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The US Army Secretary, Dan Driscoll, was an unlikely diplomat for the Trump administration newest initiative to end the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Driscoll's strong connection with JD Vance has placed a close associate of the Euroskeptic vice-president at the forefront of President Trump's latest push to settle the war.

Prior to his recent visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was unrecognized as a mediator or statesman, and his initial attempts to promote the deal to officials in Europe were described as turbulent.

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

The VP's Role in Peace Negotiations

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

Following a chaotic first year in office, foreign policy decisions in the White House are said to be shaped by a small group of Trump's top aides, such as chief of staff Susie Wiles, rightwing adviser Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, State Department head Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

Vance has been a outspoken supporter of the recent plan, which was crafted by Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner, alongside the Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

“All objection of the ceasefire plan the administration is developing either misunderstands the framework or misstates some key situation on the ground,” Vance wrote.

Early Attempts and EU Reactions

Vance's early attempts at hammering out a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while simultaneously attempting to restore relations with Moscow, were fruitless and left his camp feeling frustrated with their Russian interlocutors. European officials, in turn, were irritated by his early remarks, in which he charged them of running from their voters, who Vance said held anti-immigration and conservative positions similar to those of Trump's own supporters.

However, the new peace deal mirrored his positions, and he has been one of the most assertive spokespeople for the deal in the government, even as the US has been under fire for accepting a peace framework that mostly resembles Vladimir Putin's extreme demands.

In social media updates this weekend, Vance asserted that a peace deal would have to establish a ceasefire that respected Ukrainian independence, be acceptable to both sides, and stop the war from resuming.

“A ceasefire won’t be made by unsuccessful diplomats or politicians living in a fantasy land,” he added. “It could be made by intelligent people operating in the real world.”

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 team with obtaining a signature on the peace deal prior to Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

Rubio's Response and Private Concerns

That was a distinctly more full-throated endorsement of the proposal than that given by the secretary of state and national security adviser, Marco Rubio, a more conventional hardliner in the administration who has gone from a shaky position inside the White House to more stable footing.

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

However, his first reaction to the agreement was tepid:

“Stopping a complicated and deadly war such as the one in Ukraine demands an thorough exchange of serious and pragmatic proposals,” Rubio wrote over the weekend. “And, achieving a durable peace will necessitate each party to consent to challenging but necessary concessions. This is the reason we are and will persist to create a list of potential ideas for resolving this conflict drawing from input from each party of this conflict.”

In private, he was reportedly much more doubtful of the proposal. The GOP lawmaker Mike Rounds stated recently at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had called legislators to explain that the deal was just a initial offer from the Russians and not an initiative pushed by the administration.

“Rubio made a call to us this day and I think he emphasized to us that we are the receivers of a offer that was presented to one of our officials,” said Rounds. “The document is not our suggestion, it is not our peace plan.”

Rubio moved quickly to align himself. “This ceasefire plan was authored by the US,” he later wrote. “The framework is presented as a solid framework for ongoing discussions. It is based on feedback from the Moscow. However, it is additionally based on earlier and current input from Ukraine.”