US armed forces body bearers arrive with the casket of the former US Vice President Dick Cheney at the Washington National Cathedral. Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP
US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance were not invited to Thursday's funeral service for former Vice President Dick Cheney, according to a White House official.
Former US leaders, lawmakers and other dignitaries gathered at Washington's National Cathedral to remember the powerful and divisive former vice president, who was a vocal opponent of Trump.
Guests included former Presidents Joe Biden and George W Bush as well as former Vice President Kamala Harris and Mike Pence, who served as vice president in Trump's first term.
Cheney, a former Wyoming congressman and secretary of defense who was a driving force behind the US invasion of Iraq as vice president in 2003, died at age 84 on 3 November.
Cheney criticised Trump's false claims of victory in the 2020 presidential election and the 6 January, 2021, attack on the Capitol by his supporters. He endorsed Trump's opponent, Democrat Kamala Harris, in the 2024 election.
"In our nation's 248 year-history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump," Cheney said.
Donald Trump and Dick Cheney. Photo: AFP
Trump has not expressed condolences to Cheney's family. The White House has previously said they were "aware" of Cheney's passing. Flags at the White House have been flying at half staff.
"My condolences go to Dick Cheney and his family," Vance said at a Breitbart News event on Thursday. "Obviously, there's some political disagreements there."
- Reuters
