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

Prior to his last week's trip to Kyiv, Driscoll was unrecognized as a mediator or diplomat, and his early efforts to promote the agreement to European policymakers were described as chaotic.

His strong relationship with Vance, who he attended Yale and maintains a close friendship, indicate the rising influence of the isolationist vice-president in negotiations to end the Ukraine crisis.

Vance's Involvement in Ceasefire Negotiations

This was Vance who intervened during Ukraine's president's rocky initial trip to the White House in March and insisted he show Trump more respect. Now, Ukraine is once again pushing back against demands from the US to agree to a swift settlement that Ukrainian leaders have called a capitulation.

Following a chaotic first year in power, foreign policy actions in the White House are said to be shaped by a handful of Trump's key aides, such as chief of staff Susie Wiles, conservative advisor Stephen Miller, diplomat Steve Witkoff, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and finally Vance.

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

“All objection of the peace framework the administration is developing either misunderstands the proposal or misstates some key reality on the ground,” the VP wrote.

Early Efforts and EU Responses

Vance's early efforts at hammering out a peace deal with Russia, while simultaneously seeking to restore ties with Moscow, were unsuccessful and left his camp feeling disappointed with their Russian interlocutors. European officials, meanwhile, were irritated by his early speeches, in which he charged them of running from their constituents, who Vance claimed held restrictionist and conservative positions similar to those of Trump's own constituency.

But, the recently published ceasefire proposal closely resembled his positions, and he has been one of the most forceful advocates for the agreement in the government, even as the US has been under fire for endorsing a peace framework that mostly 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 honored Ukrainian sovereignty, be agreeable to both sides, and prevent the war from restarting.

“A ceasefire will not be made by failed diplomats or officials living in a fantasy land,” he added. “An agreement might be made by smart people living in the real world.”

Additionally, it was Vance who followed up on the introduction of the ceasefire proposal in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had mainly instructed his staff with obtaining a signature on the ceasefire accord prior to Thanksgiving this Thursday in the United States.

The Secretary of State's Response and Private Concerns

That was a distinctly more enthusiastic support of the proposal than that expressed by the top diplomat and security advisor, Marco Rubio, a more traditional hawk in the government who has gone from a shaky position inside the White House to more firm footing.

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

But, his initial reaction to the deal was tepid:

“Ending a complicated and deadly conflict such as the one in Ukraine requires an thorough exchange of substantive and pragmatic ideas,” Rubio stated recently. “And, securing a durable peace will require each party to agree to challenging but essential compromises. This is the reason we are and will persist to develop a set of possible solutions for resolving this war drawing from feedback from each party of this war.”

In private, he was said to be much more doubtful of the proposal. The Republican senator Mike Rounds stated last week at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had contacted legislators to explain that the agreement was merely a preliminary proposal from the Russians and not an initiative advocated by the White House.

“The Secretary did make a call to us this afternoon and I think he emphasized to us that we are the recipients of a proposal that was presented to one of our representatives,” said 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 later wrote. “The framework is offered as a solid framework for continuing discussions. It is based on input from the Moscow. But, it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.”