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The US Army Secretary, Dan Driscoll, emerged as an surprising diplomat for the White House's latest proposal to end the Russian invasion in Ukraine. His strong relationship with JD Vance has positioned a close associate of the Euroskeptic vice-president at the center of Donald Trump recent effort to conclude the war.

Before his recent trip to Kyiv, Driscoll was unrecognized as a negotiator or diplomat, and his initial efforts to sell the deal to officials in Europe were labeled chaotic.

His strong ties with Vance, who he attended Yale and shares a personal bond, signal the resurgence of the isolationist vice-president in talks to end the Ukraine crisis.

The VP's Role in Ceasefire Negotiations

It was Vance who stepped in during Volodymyr Zelenskyy rocky first visit to the White House in March and insisted he show Trump more courtesy. Currently, Ukraine is once again pushing back against pressure from the US to agree to a swift deal that local officials have called a surrender.

Following a chaotic first year in power, international decisions in the White House are reportedly influenced by a handful of Trump's key aides, including top aide Susie Wiles, rightwing adviser Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

Vance has been a vocal advocate of the latest plan, which was crafted by Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner, together with the Russian diplomat Kirill Dmitriev.

“All objection of the peace framework the White House is developing either misunderstands the proposal or misstates some critical reality on the ground,” Vance wrote.

Initial Efforts and European Responses

Vance's early attempts at negotiating a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while simultaneously attempting to restore ties with Moscow, were unsuccessful and left his camp feeling disappointed with their Russian counterparts. European officials, meanwhile, were irritated by his initial remarks, in which he accused them of running from their voters, who Vance said held anti-immigration and right-leaning views similar to those of Trump's own constituency.

However, the new ceasefire proposal closely resembled his positions, and he has been one of the most assertive spokespeople for the deal in the administration, even as the US has been criticized for accepting a ceasefire plan that mostly echoes Vladimir Putin's maximalist terms.

In posts this weekend, Vance asserted that a peace deal would have to establish a truce that honored Ukrainian independence, be agreeable to each party, and prevent the conflict from restarting.

“A ceasefire will not be made by unsuccessful negotiators or officials living in a dream world,” he added. “It could be made by intelligent people living in the actual situation.”

Additionally, it was Vance who continued on the presentation of the peace plan in a conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had mainly tasked his staff with securing a agreement on the peace deal prior to Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

The Secretary of State's Reaction and Private Doubts

Vance's stance was a distinctly more full-throated support of the proposal than that expressed by the top diplomat and security advisor, Marco Rubio, a more conventional hawk in the administration who has transitioned from a uncertain position inside the White House to more firm standing.

Rubio was a member of a US team that went to Geneva this weekend to confer with Ukrainian officials to help refine the initial 28-point peace plan in order to make it more acceptable to authorities in Kyiv.

But, his first reaction to the deal was tepid:

“Stopping a complicated and deadly conflict such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive exchange of serious and pragmatic ideas,” Rubio wrote over the weekend. “And, achieving a durable peace will necessitate both sides to consent to challenging but necessary concessions. This is the reason we are and will continue to create a list of potential ideas for resolving this conflict based on feedback from both sides of this war.”

In private, he was reportedly much more doubtful of the plan. The GOP lawmaker Mike Rounds stated recently at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had contacted legislators to explain that the agreement was just a preliminary proposal from the Russians and not an initiative advocated by the White House.

“Rubio did make a phone call to us this day and I believe he made it very clear to us that we are the receivers of a proposal that was presented to one of our officials,” stated Rounds. “It is not our recommendation, it is not our peace plan.”

Rubio acted swiftly to align himself. “This ceasefire plan was written by the US,” he subsequently wrote. “It is offered as a solid framework for continuing negotiations. The proposal is based on input from the Moscow. However, it is also informed by earlier and current contributions from Ukraine.”