Joe Biden will attend Dick Cheney's memorial at the Washington National Cathedral, where George W. Bush will also speak. The White House ordered U.S. flags to half-staff after Cheney's Nov. 3 death, but President Trump did not issue a public statement or a presidential proclamation. Officials privately told congressional leaders to rely on federal statute governing flag displays, suggesting no formal proclamation would be issued. Tributes will include remarks from Cheney's cardiologist, Pete Williams, Liz Cheney and members of his family.
Biden to Attend Dick Cheney’s Memorial at National Cathedral as Trump Remains Silent
Joe Biden will attend Dick Cheney's memorial at the Washington National Cathedral, where George W. Bush will also speak. The White House ordered U.S. flags to half-staff after Cheney's Nov. 3 death, but President Trump did not issue a public statement or a presidential proclamation. Officials privately told congressional leaders to rely on federal statute governing flag displays, suggesting no formal proclamation would be issued. Tributes will include remarks from Cheney's cardiologist, Pete Williams, Liz Cheney and members of his family.
04:58 AM, 11/20/2025Politics
Former president Joe Biden will attend Thursday's memorial for former vice president Dick Cheney at the Washington National Cathedral. The invitation-only service will feature remarks from former president George W. Bush and tributes from family members and longtime associates.
White House Response and Flags
A White House spokesperson confirmed President Biden's plans. In a statement after Cheney's Nov. 3 death, Biden said the former vice president 'was guided by a strong set of conservative values' and added that 'he believed, as I do, that family is the beginning, middle, and end.'
President Donald Trump has not issued a public statement on Cheney's death and has not issued the presidential proclamation that often accompanies the passing of prominent public figures. The White House did direct that U.S. flags be flown at half-staff after Cheney's death; Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that was done 'in accordance with statutory law.'
Why No Proclamation?
Federal law specifies that when a former vice president dies, the U.S. flag should fly at half-staff from the day of death until interment. Officials privately advised congressional leaders to follow that statute when deciding flag display, indicating that a formal presidential proclamation would not be issued, according to people familiar with those conversations who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment on why a proclamation was not issued or whether President Trump was invited to the memorial. Relations between Trump and the Cheney family have been strained since the 2020 election, when former Rep. Liz Cheney emerged as a vocal Republican critic of Trump's efforts to remain in office.
Cheney's Life and Speakers at the Memorial
Cheney, a long-serving figure in Republican politics, held several high-profile roles: vice president under George W. Bush, secretary of defense under President George H.W. Bush, White House chief of staff for Gerald Ford, and representative for Wyoming in the U.S. House. In recent years he criticized Trump and said he would support the Democratic ticket in 2024, calling Trump unfit for office.
Speakers at the memorial will include Cheney's longtime cardiologist Jonathan Reiner; Pete Williams, a former NBC News correspondent who served as Cheney's Pentagon spokesman; Liz Cheney; and several of Cheney's grandchildren.
The service at the National Cathedral is expected to draw current and former officials, family and friends who will reflect on Cheney's decades-long role in U.S. politics and public life.