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The US Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll, was an surprising diplomat for the White House's newest proposal to end the conflict in Ukraine. Driscoll's close relationship with Vice President Vance has placed a close associate of the Eurosceptic VP at the forefront of President Trump's latest push to conclude the conflict.

Before his recent visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a mediator or diplomat, and his early attempts to sell the deal to European policymakers were described as chaotic.

Driscoll's close relationship with Vance, who he attended Yale and maintains a personal bond, signal the resurgence of the isolationist VP in negotiations to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

The VP's Role in Ceasefire Efforts

It was Vance who stepped in during Ukraine's president's disastrous initial visit to the Trump White House in March and demanded he show Trump more respect. Now, Ukraine is once again pushing back against demands from the US to agree to a quick settlement that Ukrainian leaders have described as a surrender.

After a chaotic first year in power, international decisions in the White House are said to be shaped by a handful of Trump's top aides, including top aide Susie Wiles, rightwing adviser Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, State Department head Marco Rubio, and of course Vance.

Vance has been a outspoken advocate of the recent proposal, which was crafted by Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, alongside the Russian diplomat Kirill Dmitriev.

“All criticism of the peace framework the White House is developing either misunderstands the proposal or misrepresents some critical reality on the ground,” Vance stated.

Initial Efforts and EU Responses

Vance's early efforts at hammering out a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while also attempting to renew relations with Moscow, were fruitless and left his camp feeling frustrated with their Russian counterparts. Leaders in Europe, meanwhile, were angered by his early remarks, in which he charged them of running from their voters, who Vance claimed held anti-immigration and right-leaning positions close to those of Trump's own constituency.

However, the recently published ceasefire proposal mirrored his stances, and he has been one of the most forceful advocates for the deal in the administration, even as the US has been criticized for accepting a peace framework that mostly echoes Vladimir Putin's extreme demands.

In posts this past weekend, Vance argued that a peace deal would have to produce a ceasefire that honored Ukrainian independence, be agreeable to each party, and stop the conflict from restarting.

“Peace will not be made by failed negotiators or politicians residing in a fantasy land,” he continued. “It might be made by intelligent people living in the actual situation.”

Additionally, it was Vance who continued on the introduction of the peace plan in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had mainly instructed his staff with securing a agreement on the ceasefire accord before Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

Rubio's Response and Internal Doubts

That was a distinctly more enthusiastic support of the proposal than that given by the secretary of state and national security adviser, Marco Rubio, a more conventional hawk in the government who has gone from a uncertain stature inside the White House to more stable standing.

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

However, his first reaction to the deal was lukewarm:

“Ending a complex and deadly war such as the one in Ukraine demands an thorough discussion of substantive and realistic proposals,” Rubio stated recently. “And, securing a lasting peace will require both sides to consent to difficult but necessary compromises. This is the reason we are and will persist to develop a list of possible solutions for resolving this conflict based on input from both sides of this conflict.”

Behind closed doors, he was said to be much more skeptical of the plan. The Republican senator Mike Rounds stated last week at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had called lawmakers to explain that the agreement was just a preliminary proposal from the Russians and not an initiative advocated by the White House.

“The Secretary did make a phone call to us this day and I believe he made it very clear to us that we are the recipients of a proposal that was presented to one of our representatives,” stated Rounds. “It is not our recommendation, it is not our ceasefire proposal.”

Rubio acted swiftly to align himself. “This ceasefire plan was written by the US,” he later wrote. “The framework is offered as a solid structure for continuing negotiations. The proposal is derived from input from the Moscow. But, it is also informed by previous and ongoing contributions from Ukraine.”