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America's Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll, emerged as an surprising envoy for the Trump administration latest proposal to end the conflict in Ukraine. His strong connection with Vice President Vance has placed a key ally of the Euroskeptic vice-president at the center of President Trump's latest push to conclude the war.

Before his recent trip to Kyiv, Driscoll was unrecognized as a mediator or diplomat, and his initial attempts to promote the agreement to European policymakers were labeled chaotic.

His close relationship with Vance, who he studied and maintains a close friendship, signal the resurgence of the isolationist vice-president in negotiations to resolve the Ukraine war.

Vance's Role in Ceasefire Efforts

This was Vance who stepped in during Volodymyr Zelenskyy rocky first visit to the Trump White House in March and insisted he show Trump more respect. Currently, Ukraine is again resisting pressure from the US to accept a quick deal that Ukrainian leaders have described as a surrender.

After a chaotic first year in office, international decisions in the White House are said to be influenced by a small group of Trump's top advisers, such as chief of staff Susie Wiles, conservative adviser Stephen Miller, diplomat Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and of course Vance.

Vance has been a vocal supporter of the latest plan, which was developed by Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, together with the Russian diplomat Kirill Dmitriev.

“Every objection of the peace framework the administration is working on either misunderstands the framework or misstates some key reality on the ground,” the VP wrote.

Initial Attempts and EU Reactions

Vance's early attempts at hammering out a peace deal with Russia, while also seeking to restore relations with Moscow, were fruitless and left his camp feeling disappointed with their Russian interlocutors. European officials, in turn, were irritated by his early speeches, in which he accused them of ignoring their voters, who Vance said held restrictionist and conservative views similar to those of Trump's own supporters.

However, the new ceasefire proposal mirrored 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 endorsing a peace framework that largely echoes Vladimir Putin's extreme demands.

In social media updates this weekend, Vance asserted that a ceasefire agreement would have to produce a truce that honored Ukrainian independence, be agreeable to each party, and stop the conflict from resuming.

“Peace won’t be made by failed diplomats or politicians living in a dream world,” he continued. “It could be made by smart people operating in the real world.”

Additionally, it was Vance who continued on the introduction of the ceasefire proposal in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had mainly instructed his team with obtaining a signature on the ceasefire accord before Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

Rubio's Response and Internal Concerns

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

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

But, his first reaction to the deal was tepid:

“Ending a complex and violent war such as the one in Ukraine demands an thorough discussion of substantive and pragmatic ideas,” Rubio wrote recently. “And, securing a durable peace will necessitate both sides to agree to challenging but essential compromises. This is the reason we are and will persist to develop a set of possible ideas for ending this conflict based on input from both sides of this conflict.”

In private, he was said to be much more doubtful of the proposal. The Republican senator Mike Rounds said recently at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had contacted lawmakers to explain that the agreement was just a preliminary proposal from the Russians and not an plan advocated by the administration.

“The Secretary did make a phone call to us this day and I believe he emphasized to us that we are the receivers of a offer that was delivered to one of our officials,” said Rounds. “It is not our recommendation, 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 offered as a strong framework for continuing discussions. The proposal is based on input from the Moscow. But, it is also based on previous and ongoing contributions from Ukraine.”