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America's Army Secretary, Daniel Driscoll, was an surprising diplomat for the White House's latest proposal to resolve the Russian invasion in Ukraine. His close connection with JD Vance has positioned a close associate of the Eurosceptic VP at the forefront of President Trump's latest push to conclude the conflict.

Prior to his recent trip to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a mediator or diplomat, and his early efforts to sell the deal to European policymakers were labeled chaotic.

His strong relationship with Vance, who he studied and maintains a close friendship, indicate the resurgence of the isolationist vice-president in talks to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

Vance's Involvement in Peace Negotiations

It was Vance who stepped in during Ukraine's president's disastrous first trip to the White House in March and insisted he show Trump more courtesy. Now, Ukraine is once again pushing back against pressure from the US to accept a swift deal that Ukrainian leaders have called a surrender.

After a chaotic initial year in office, international actions in the White House are reportedly shaped by a small group of Trump's top aides, such as chief of staff Susie Wiles, rightwing adviser Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

Vance has been a vocal supporter of the recent proposal, which was crafted by Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, alongside the Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

“Every objection of the peace framework the White House is developing either misunderstands the proposal or misstates some critical situation on the ground,” the VP stated.

Initial Attempts and European Reactions

Vance's initial efforts at negotiating a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while simultaneously attempting to renew ties with Moscow, were unsuccessful and left his team feeling frustrated with their Russian interlocutors. Leaders in Europe, meanwhile, were angered by his early speeches, in which he charged them of running from their voters, who Vance said held restrictionist and right-leaning positions 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 forceful advocates for the deal in the administration, even as the US has been criticized for endorsing a peace framework that mostly resembles Vladimir Putin's extreme terms.

In posts this weekend, Vance asserted that a ceasefire agreement would have to produce a truce that respected Ukrainian sovereignty, be acceptable to both sides, and prevent the war from restarting.

“Peace will not be made by failed negotiators or officials living in a dream world,” he continued. “It could be made by intelligent people operating in the actual situation.”

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

The Secretary of State's Response and Internal Concerns

Vance's stance was a notably more enthusiastic endorsement of the plan than that given by the top diplomat and security advisor, Marco Rubio, a more traditional hardliner in the administration who has transitioned from a uncertain position inside the administration to more firm standing.

Rubio was part of a US delegation that went to Geneva this weekend to confer with Ukrainian leaders to help moderate the original 28-point ceasefire proposal in order to make it more palatable to leaders in Kyiv.

But, his initial response to the deal was tepid:

“Ending a complex and deadly war such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive discussion of serious and pragmatic proposals,” Rubio stated recently. “And, achieving a lasting peace will require each party to agree to challenging but necessary concessions. This is the reason we are and will persist to create a set of potential ideas for ending this conflict drawing from feedback from each party of this war.”

In private, 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 plan advocated by the administration.

“The Secretary made a phone call to us this day and I think he made it very clear to us that we are the recipients of a proposal that was presented to one of our representatives,” said Rounds. “The document is not our recommendation, it is not our peace plan.”

Rubio moved quickly to align himself. “This ceasefire plan was written by the US,” he subsequently wrote. “The framework is presented as a strong framework for continuing discussions. It is derived from input from the Russian side. But, it is also informed by earlier and ongoing contributions from Ukraine.”