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The US Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll, emerged as an surprising diplomat for the White House's latest proposal to end the Russian invasion in Ukraine. His close connection with JD Vance has positioned a close associate of the Euroskeptic vice-president at the forefront of Donald Trump recent effort to conclude the war.

Prior to his last week's visit to Kyiv, Driscoll was not known as a negotiator or diplomat, and his early efforts to promote the deal to European policymakers were labeled turbulent.

His strong ties with Vance, who he attended Yale and maintains a personal bond, indicate the resurgence of the non-interventionist VP in talks to end the Ukraine war.

Vance's Role in Ceasefire Efforts

It was Vance who stepped in during Ukraine's president's rocky initial trip to the Trump White House in March and insisted he show Trump more courtesy. Now, Ukraine is once again pushing back against pressure from the US to agree to a quick settlement that Ukrainian leaders have described as a capitulation.

Following a chaotic first year in office, international decisions in the White House are said to be shaped by a handful of Trump's key aides, such as top aide Susie Wiles, rightwing adviser Stephen Miller, diplomat Steve Witkoff, secretary of state 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 Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

“Every criticism of the ceasefire plan the White House is developing either misinterprets the proposal or misstates some critical situation on the ground,” Vance wrote.

Initial Efforts and European Responses

Vance's early attempts at hammering out a ceasefire agreement with Russia, while also attempting to restore ties with Moscow, were fruitless and left his camp feeling disappointed with their Russian counterparts. Leaders in Europe, in turn, were irritated by his early remarks, 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 supporters.

But, the recently published peace deal mirrored his stances, and he has been one of the most assertive advocates for the deal in the administration, even as the US has been under fire for endorsing a ceasefire plan that mostly echoes Vladimir Putin's extreme terms.

In social media updates this past weekend, Vance argued that a ceasefire agreement would have to produce a truce that honored Ukrainian independence, be acceptable to both sides, and stop the conflict from resuming.

“A ceasefire won’t be made by unsuccessful diplomats or politicians living in a fantasy land,” he added. “An agreement could be made by smart people living in the actual situation.”

Additionally, it was Vance who followed up on the introduction of the peace plan in a phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump had primarily instructed his staff with securing a signature on the peace deal before Thanksgiving this week in the United States.

Rubio's Reaction and Internal Doubts

That was a distinctly more enthusiastic endorsement of the proposal than that expressed by the secretary of state and security advisor, Marco Rubio, a more conventional hawk in the administration who has gone from a shaky stature inside the White House to more firm footing.

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

However, his initial response to the agreement was tepid:

“Ending a complex and violent conflict such as the one in Ukraine requires an extensive discussion of substantive and pragmatic proposals,” Rubio stated recently. “And, achieving a durable peace will require each party to agree to challenging but necessary concessions. That is why we are and will persist to create a list of potential solutions for resolving this conflict drawing from input from both sides of this war.”

In private, he was reportedly much more doubtful of the plan. The GOP lawmaker Mike Rounds said recently at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia that Rubio had called legislators to explain that the agreement was merely a preliminary proposal from the Russians and not an initiative pushed by the White House.

“Rubio did make a call to us this afternoon and I think he emphasized to us that we are the receivers of a proposal that was delivered to one of our representatives,” said Rounds. “It is not our recommendation, it is not our ceasefire proposal.”

Rubio moved quickly to align himself. “This ceasefire plan was written by the US,” he later wrote. “It is presented as a solid framework for ongoing negotiations. The proposal is derived from feedback from the Moscow. But, it is also informed by earlier and current input from Ukraine.”