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The US Army Secretary, Dan Driscoll, was an surprising envoy for the White House's newest proposal to end the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Driscoll's close relationship with JD Vance has placed a key ally of the Eurosceptic vice-president at the forefront of Donald Trump recent push to settle the conflict.

Before his last week's trip to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a negotiator or statesman, and his initial attempts to promote the agreement to European policymakers were described as turbulent.

Driscoll's strong relationship with Vance, who he attended Yale and maintains a close friendship, signal the resurgence of the non-interventionist VP in negotiations to resolve the Ukraine war.

The VP's Role in Ceasefire Efforts

It was Vance who intervened during Volodymyr Zelenskyy rocky first trip to the Trump White House in March and insisted he show Trump more courtesy. Now, Ukraine is once again pushing back against demands from the US to accept a swift deal that local officials have called a surrender.

Following a chaotic first year in office, international actions in the White House are said to be shaped by a handful of Trump's top aides, including chief of staff Susie Wiles, conservative adviser Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, State Department head Marco Rubio, and of course Vance.

Vance has been a vocal advocate of the recent proposal, which was crafted by Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner, together with the Russian diplomat Kirill Dmitriev.

“All criticism of the ceasefire plan the White House is working on either misunderstands the proposal or misrepresents some critical reality on the ground,” Vance wrote.

Initial Efforts and European Reactions

Vance's initial efforts at hammering out a peace deal with Russia, while also attempting to renew relations with Moscow, were unsuccessful and left his camp feeling frustrated with their Russian interlocutors. Leaders in Europe, meanwhile, were angered by his early remarks, in which he accused them of running from their voters, who Vance said held restrictionist and right-leaning positions similar to those of Trump's own supporters.

But, the new peace deal closely resembled his stances, and he has been one of the most forceful spokespeople for the deal in the government, even as the US has been under fire for endorsing a peace framework that largely resembles Vladimir Putin's extreme demands.

In posts this past weekend, Vance asserted that a ceasefire agreement would have to produce a ceasefire that honored Ukrainian sovereignty, be agreeable to each party, and stop the conflict from resuming.

“Peace will not be made by unsuccessful diplomats or politicians living in a fantasy land,” he continued. “It might be made by smart people living in the actual situation.”

It was Vance who followed up on the presentation of the peace plan in a conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had mainly tasked his team with securing a signature on the peace deal prior to Thanksgiving this week in the United States.

The Secretary of State's Reaction and Private Doubts

That was a notably more enthusiastic support of the proposal than that expressed by the top diplomat and security advisor, Marco Rubio, a more conventional hawk in the government who has transitioned from a shaky stature inside the White House to more stable standing.

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

But, his first response to the deal was lukewarm:

“Ending a complicated and deadly war such as the one in Ukraine demands an extensive exchange of serious and realistic ideas,” Rubio wrote recently. “And, securing a durable peace will require both sides to consent to difficult but necessary compromises. That is why we are and will persist to create a list of possible solutions for resolving this war drawing from input from both sides of this war.”

Behind closed doors, he was reportedly much more doubtful of the plan. The Republican senator Mike Rounds stated recently at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had contacted legislators to clarify that the deal was merely a initial offer from the Russians and not an plan advocated by the White House.

“Rubio made a call to us this day and I believe he made it very clear to us that we are the receivers of a proposal 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 fall in line. “This ceasefire plan was authored by the US,” he subsequently wrote. “It is offered as a strong framework for continuing discussions. The proposal is based on input from the Moscow. However, it is additionally based on earlier and current input from Ukraine.”