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The US Army Secretary, Dan Driscoll, was an unlikely envoy for the White House's latest initiative to end the conflict in Ukraine. Driscoll's strong relationship with Vice President Vance has placed a key ally of the Eurosceptic VP at the forefront of Donald Trump latest push to conclude the war.

Prior to his recent trip to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a negotiator or statesman, and his early attempts to sell the agreement to European policymakers were labeled chaotic.

Driscoll's strong ties with Vance, who he attended Yale and shares a personal bond, signal the resurgence of the isolationist VP in negotiations to end the Ukraine war.

The VP's Role in Peace Efforts

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

Following a tumultuous first year in office, foreign policy decisions in the White House are reportedly influenced by a small group of Trump's key advisers, such as top aide Susie Wiles, conservative advisor Stephen Miller, diplomat Steve Witkoff, State Department head Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

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

“All criticism of the peace framework the administration is working on either misinterprets the framework or misstates some key situation on the ground,” the VP wrote.

Early Efforts and European Responses

Vance's initial attempts at hammering out a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while simultaneously attempting to renew ties with Moscow, were fruitless and left his camp feeling disappointed with their Russian interlocutors. Leaders in Europe, meanwhile, were angered by his initial speeches, in which he accused them of ignoring their voters, who Vance said held anti-immigration and right-leaning positions similar to those of Trump's own constituency.

However, the recently published ceasefire proposal closely resembled his stances, and he has been one of the most assertive spokespeople for the agreement in the administration, even as the US has been criticized for accepting a peace framework that largely resembles 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 acceptable to both sides, and prevent the conflict from resuming.

“A ceasefire will not be made by failed diplomats or officials living in a fantasy land,” he continued. “An agreement could be made by smart people operating in the actual situation.”

Additionally, 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 securing a signature on the ceasefire accord before Thanksgiving this week in the United States.

The Secretary of State's Response and Private Concerns

Vance's stance 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 uncertain position inside the White House to more firm standing.

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

But, his first reaction to the deal was lukewarm:

“Ending a complex and violent war such as the one in Ukraine demands an thorough discussion of serious and pragmatic proposals,” Rubio stated recently. “Furthermore, achieving a durable peace will necessitate both sides to consent to challenging but necessary compromises. That is why we are and will persist to create a list of potential solutions for ending this conflict drawing from feedback from both sides of this war.”

In private, he was reportedly much more doubtful of the plan. The GOP lawmaker Mike Rounds stated last week at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had contacted lawmakers to clarify that the deal was just a initial offer from the Russians and not an initiative advocated by the White House.

“The Secretary did make a phone call to us this afternoon and I think he emphasized to us that we are the recipients of a offer that was delivered to one of our officials,” said Rounds. “The document is not our suggestion, it is not our ceasefire proposal.”

Rubio moved quickly to fall in line. “This ceasefire plan was authored by the US,” he subsequently wrote. “The framework is presented as a solid structure for continuing discussions. It is based on feedback from the Moscow. However, it is also informed by earlier and ongoing contributions from Ukraine.”