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America's Secretary of the Army, Daniel Driscoll, emerged as an surprising diplomat for the Trump administration newest proposal to end the conflict in Ukraine. Driscoll's strong relationship with Vice President Vance has placed a key ally of the Euroskeptic VP at the center of President Trump's latest push to conclude the war.

Before his last week's visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a mediator or statesman, and his early attempts to sell the deal to European policymakers were labeled turbulent.

His close relationship with Vance, who he studied and maintains a personal bond, indicate the resurgence of the isolationist vice-president in talks to end the Ukraine war.

The VP's Role in Ceasefire Negotiations

This was Vance who intervened during Ukraine's president's rocky first visit to the Trump White House in March and demanded he show Trump more respect. Now, Ukraine is again pushing back against demands from the US to accept a quick settlement that Ukrainian leaders have called a surrender.

Following a chaotic initial year in office, foreign policy actions in the White House are reportedly influenced by a small group of Trump's top aides, including top aide Susie Wiles, rightwing advisor Stephen Miller, diplomat Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and of course Vance.

Vance has been a vocal supporter of the latest proposal, which was developed by Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner, alongside the Russian diplomat Kirill Dmitriev.

“All criticism of the ceasefire plan the White House is developing either misunderstands the proposal or misstates some critical situation on the ground,” Vance wrote.

Initial Attempts and European Responses

Vance's initial efforts at negotiating a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while simultaneously seeking to renew relations with Moscow, were fruitless and left his team feeling disappointed with their Russian interlocutors. Leaders in Europe, in turn, were irritated by his initial remarks, in which he accused them of ignoring their constituents, who Vance said held anti-immigration and right-leaning views similar to those of Trump's own supporters.

But, the recently published peace deal mirrored his stances, and he has been one of the most forceful spokespeople for the agreement in the government, even as the US has been under fire for accepting a ceasefire plan that largely echoes Vladimir Putin's maximalist demands.

In posts this weekend, Vance argued that a ceasefire agreement would have to establish a ceasefire that honored Ukrainian independence, be acceptable to both sides, and stop the war from resuming.

“Peace will not be made by failed negotiators or politicians residing in a fantasy land,” he continued. “An agreement might be made by smart people operating in the actual situation.”

It was Vance who continued on the introduction of the ceasefire proposal in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had primarily tasked his team with securing a signature on the ceasefire accord before Thanksgiving this week in the United States.

Rubio's Response and Internal Concerns

Vance's stance was a notably more enthusiastic endorsement of the proposal than that expressed by the top diplomat and national security adviser, Marco Rubio, a more traditional hawk in the administration who has gone from a shaky position inside the White House to more firm footing.

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

However, his first reaction to the agreement was lukewarm:

“Stopping a complicated and violent conflict such as the one in Ukraine requires an thorough exchange of serious and pragmatic ideas,” Rubio wrote recently. “And, achieving a durable ceasefire will require both sides to consent to challenging but essential concessions. That is why we are and will continue to develop a list of possible solutions for resolving this war drawing from feedback 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 said recently at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had contacted lawmakers to explain that the deal was merely a preliminary offer from the Russians and not an initiative advocated by the administration.

“The Secretary made a call to us this afternoon and I believe he made it very clear to us that we are the recipients of a offer that was presented to one of our representatives,” stated Rounds. “The document is not our suggestion, it is not our peace plan.”

Rubio acted swiftly to fall in line. “This ceasefire plan was authored by the US,” he subsequently stated. “It is offered as a strong structure for ongoing negotiations. It is derived from input from the Russian side. But, it is additionally based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.”