Former Vice President Dick Cheney's funeral will be held in Washington on Thursday, with many notable political figures set to attend the service at the Washington National Cathedral.
Cheney died on Nov. 3 at the age of 84 from complications of pneumonia and cardiovascular disease, his family said.
The first speaker at the service was Cheney's longtime cardiologist, Jonathan Reiner.
"I’m happy to report that I haven’t given many eulogies," Reiner lightly joked. "Nobody wants a doctor who is great at funerals."
Reiner recalled Cheney's ambition to continue his political career despite a decades-long battle with heart disease. He said Cheney was always the "calmest person in the room."
Former President George W. Bush, under whom Cheney served as vice president for two terms, gave a tribute during the service.
Former vice presidents Kamala Harris, Mike Pence, Al Gore, Dan Quayle, and Former President Joe Biden and former first lady Jill Biden are all in attendance.
Former President Bill Clinton reportedly had a scheduling conflict.
Multiple sources have reported that President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance were not invited to the service. President Trump did not issue a public statement about Cheney's passing; however, the White House lowered its flags to half-staff after his death, as it said the law calls for.
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Members of Cheney's surviving family, including his daughter, former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, and his grandchildren, are scheduled to give remarks during the service.
“For decades, Dick Cheney served our nation, including as White House chief of staff, Wyoming’s congressman, secretary of defense and vice president of the United States,” his family said in a statement after his passing. “Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honor, love, kindness and fly fishing. We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country, and we are blessed beyond measure to have loved and been loved by this noble giant of a man.”
His White House career dated back to the Nixon administration. He served as President Gerald Ford’s chief of staff from 1975 to 1977. After Ford lost the 1976 election, Cheney entered elected office, serving as Wyoming’s lone member of the U.S. House from 1979 to 1989.
He left Congress to become secretary of defense under President George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, overseeing Operation Desert Storm. As Bush’s vice president, Cheney took on a central role in administration policy and was a key voice on national security after the attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.
Cheney announced last year that he would endorse Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.
