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America's Secretary of the Army, Daniel Driscoll, was an unlikely diplomat for the White House's newest proposal to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. His strong connection with Vice President Vance has positioned a close associate of the Eurosceptic VP at the center of President Trump's recent push to conclude the war.

Before his recent visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was unrecognized as a mediator or diplomat, and his early attempts to sell the agreement to European policymakers were described as turbulent.

Driscoll's strong ties with Vance, with whom he studied and maintains a personal bond, signal the resurgence of the isolationist vice-president in negotiations to resolve the Ukraine crisis.

The VP's Role in Ceasefire Efforts

This was Vance who intervened during Ukraine's president's disastrous initial trip to the Trump White House in March and insisted he show Trump more respect. Currently, Ukraine is once again pushing back against demands from the US to agree to a quick deal that local officials have called a surrender.

After a chaotic initial year in office, foreign policy actions in the White House are said to be shaped by a handful of Trump's top advisers, including top aide Susie Wiles, rightwing adviser Stephen Miller, diplomat Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

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

“All criticism of the ceasefire plan the administration is developing either misunderstands the framework or misrepresents some critical reality on the ground,” the VP stated.

Initial Efforts and European Responses

Vance's early attempts at hammering out a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while simultaneously attempting to restore ties with Moscow, were unsuccessful and left his team feeling frustrated with their Russian counterparts. European officials, meanwhile, were irritated by his initial remarks, in which he charged them of ignoring their voters, who Vance said held anti-immigration and conservative positions close to those of Trump's own supporters.

However, the new ceasefire proposal closely resembled his positions, and he has been one of the most assertive advocates for the agreement in the administration, even as the US has been criticized for endorsing a ceasefire plan that largely resembles Vladimir Putin's maximalist demands.

In social media updates this past weekend, Vance asserted that a ceasefire agreement would have to produce a ceasefire that respected Ukrainian independence, be agreeable to each party, and stop the war from restarting.

“A ceasefire won’t be made by failed diplomats or politicians living in a dream world,” he continued. “It might be made by intelligent people operating in the actual situation.”

It was Vance who followed up on the presentation of the ceasefire proposal in a conversation with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had primarily instructed his staff with securing a signature on the peace deal prior to Thanksgiving this week in the United States.

Rubio's Reaction and Internal Doubts

Vance's stance was a distinctly more full-throated support of the proposal than that expressed by the top diplomat and national security adviser, Marco Rubio, a more traditional hardliner in the government who has transitioned from a shaky position inside the administration to more stable footing.

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

But, his initial response to the agreement was tepid:

“Ending a complex and violent war such as the one in Ukraine demands an thorough exchange of substantive and pragmatic proposals,” Rubio stated over the weekend. “And, securing a lasting peace will necessitate each party to agree to challenging but necessary compromises. That is why we are and will continue to create a list of possible ideas for resolving this war drawing from input from each party of this conflict.”

In private, he was reportedly 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 legislators to clarify that the deal was merely a initial offer from the Russians and not an initiative pushed by the White House.

“Rubio did make a call to us this afternoon 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. “The document is not our suggestion, it is not our peace plan.”

Rubio acted swiftly to align himself. “This ceasefire plan was authored by the US,” he subsequently stated. “The framework is offered as a solid framework for ongoing discussions. The proposal is based on feedback from the Moscow. However, it is also informed by earlier and ongoing input from Ukraine.”