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America's Army Secretary, Daniel Driscoll, was an surprising diplomat for the Trump administration newest proposal to end the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Driscoll's strong connection with Vice President Vance has placed a key ally of the Euroskeptic vice-president at the center of President Trump's recent effort to conclude the war.

Prior to his last week's visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a negotiator or statesman, and his early attempts to sell the agreement to officials in Europe were labeled turbulent.

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

Vance's Involvement in Peace Negotiations

This was Vance who stepped in during Volodymyr Zelenskyy disastrous first trip to the White House in March and insisted he show Trump more courtesy. Now, Ukraine is once again pushing back against demands from the US to agree to a swift settlement that local officials have called a capitulation.

Following a tumultuous first year in office, foreign policy decisions in the White House are said to be shaped by a small group of Trump's key advisers, such as top aide Susie Wiles, rightwing adviser Stephen Miller, envoy Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

Vance has been a outspoken advocate of the latest proposal, which was crafted by Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, alongside the Russian diplomat Kirill Dmitriev.

“Every objection of the ceasefire plan the White House is developing either misunderstands the proposal or misrepresents some critical situation on the ground,” the VP stated.

Initial Attempts and EU Responses

Vance's initial efforts at hammering out a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while also attempting to restore relations with Moscow, were unsuccessful and left his camp feeling frustrated with their Russian interlocutors. Leaders in Europe, meanwhile, were irritated by his early speeches, in which he charged them of ignoring their voters, who Vance claimed held anti-immigration and right-leaning positions similar to those of Trump's own constituency.

However, the new ceasefire proposal closely resembled his stances, and he has been one of the most assertive spokespeople for the deal in the government, even as the US has been criticized for accepting a peace framework that largely resembles Vladimir Putin's maximalist terms.

In social media updates this weekend, Vance argued that a peace deal would have to establish a ceasefire that honored Ukrainian independence, be agreeable to both sides, and prevent the conflict from restarting.

“A ceasefire won’t be made by failed negotiators or officials living in a dream world,” he continued. “It could be made by smart people operating in the actual situation.”

It was Vance who continued on the presentation of the peace plan in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had mainly instructed his staff with obtaining a signature on the ceasefire accord before Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

Rubio's Response and Internal Doubts

Vance's stance was a notably more enthusiastic endorsement of the plan than that expressed by the secretary of state and security advisor, Marco Rubio, a more traditional hardliner in the government who has transitioned from a uncertain stature inside the administration to more firm footing.

Rubio was a member of a US delegation that went to Geneva this weekend to meet with Ukrainian officials to help moderate the initial 28-point peace plan in order to make it more palatable to leaders in Kyiv.

However, his initial response to the deal was lukewarm:

“Ending a complicated and deadly war such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive exchange of serious and realistic proposals,” Rubio wrote recently. “Furthermore, securing a durable ceasefire will require each party to consent to difficult but necessary compromises. This is the reason we are and will persist to develop a set of potential solutions for ending this conflict based on input from each party of this war.”

Behind closed doors, he was said to be much more doubtful of the plan. The Republican senator Mike Rounds stated last week 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 plan advocated by the administration.

“Rubio made a phone call to us this afternoon and I think he made it very clear to us that we are the receivers of a proposal that was presented to one of our representatives,” said Rounds. “It is not our recommendation, it is not our ceasefire proposal.”

Rubio acted swiftly to fall in line. “This ceasefire plan was written by the US,” he later wrote. “It is offered as a solid framework for continuing discussions. It is derived from feedback from the Moscow. But, it is also informed by earlier and current contributions from Ukraine.”