US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have not been invited to attend the funeral of former Vice President Dick Cheney, according to a CNN report citing a source familiar with the matter. Former presidents George W. Bush and Joe Biden will pay their respects, along with former vice presidents Kamala Harris, Mike Pence, Al Gore and Dan Quayle, the news outlet said.
Trump will not attend Cheney’s funeral and has not been asked to speak at the service, USA Today reported, citing a senior White House official. According to the official, the president “has not been informed that any of his staff will be going” to the invitation-only ceremony scheduled for November 20 at the Washington National Cathedral.
The news outlet reported that a spokesman for former President Bill Clinton said he would not be attending due to an “unavoidable scheduling conflict.”
Cheney, who died earlier this month, will receive full military honors.
The bitter Cheney-Trump divide
Trump’s absence is not surprising, given his longstanding tension with the Cheney family.
In the last presidential race, Cheney endorsed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, and his daughter, former Wyoming congresswoman Liz Cheney, campaigned for Harris during the general election.
Vance’s note on the Cheney link
Vice President JD Vance also made a pointed remark about Cheney’s influence in the Bush administration.
During an interview with Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last week, Kennedy reportedly remarked that Cheney “seems to be really running the country” during the Bush era. Vance reportedly replied, “Not very well, as it turns out,” to which Kennedy responded, “We’ll agree on that.”
