Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was at the White House earlier this month getting ready for a visit to Kyiv to focus on drone expertise when he acquired an surprising task from President Donald Trump: push Ukraine to come again to the desk for peace talks with the Russia — and do it quick.
The 38-year-old Army veteran and shut pal of Vice President JD Vance, his classmate at Yale Law School, had no prior diplomatic expertise. But an “Army-to-Army” dialogue appeared promising, stated one particular person accustomed to the discussions: The Ukrainians know and belief US Army officers, who’ve skilled and geared up their forces for greater than a decade.
Trump additionally likes Driscoll and refers to him as the “drone guy,” folks accustomed to their dynamic stated, a nod to Driscoll’s intensive work on creating new drone expertise for the Army. And Trump asks Driscoll for his opinion on “what to do about Ukraine” at any time when he’s at the White House, one in every of the folks stated.
Driscoll was excited to tackle the problem, one in every of the sources stated. And after a weeklong diplomatic blitz throughout three international locations, he seems poised to return dwelling with a partial victory: Kyiv has agreed to the “key terms” of a peace settlement that he and Secretary of State Marco Rubio workshopped with Ukrainian officers in Geneva over the weekend.
Driscoll’s involvement exemplifies Trump’s unconventional strategy to worldwide crises, tasking figures with whom he has enterprise or private ties to lead US negotiations slightly than profession diplomats. The president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has lengthy been essential to his efforts in the Middle East, and he appointed his longtime enterprise affiliate Steve Witkoff as his particular envoy specializing in the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
The particular person accustomed to the dynamic stated Driscoll was speaking with the White House each step of the method, with Trump issuing directives by Vance and Witkoff.
“It was all happening so fast, and the only way to do that is with this extreme trust that these guys have with each other,” this particular person stated of the relationship between Driscoll, Vance and Witkoff.
The Russians, whom Driscoll met with on Monday and Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, haven’t but signed off on the plan, which was amended considerably from the US’ unique 28-point proposal that appeared closely weighted towards Moscow’s pursuits.
But Driscoll’s high-stakes task underscores his elevated standing inside the administration, sources instructed NCS, one thing he has not shied away from regardless of the incontrovertible fact that his proximity to the White House and to Vance has previously caused tension with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Driscoll has “really become a rising star in the administration,” stated Leslie Shedd, a former senior adviser on the House Foreign Affairs Committee who now serves as a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council.
Trump “is bringing in all of his all-stars off the bench to see who can get the best deal, who’s going to be able to have the best impact,” she stated. “You don’t want to keep sending people back over and over again if you feel like there’s been a long-jam negotiation.”
Notably, nonetheless, Hegseth has not been a type of “all-stars” referred to as off the bench. Driscoll’s uncommon position has additionally revived hypothesis that he may finally change Hegseth as secretary of protection, one thing administration officers have quietly mentioned for months, NCS has reported.
His task has resulted in a putting cut up display with Hegseth, optics that haven’t gone unnoticed in the secretary’s workplace, one supply stated. As Driscoll was engaged in delicate diplomacy abroad on problems with war and peace, Hegseth was at dwelling, spearheading an investigation into Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly and posting about it on X. Driscoll has saved Hegseth apprised of his progress in the talks, one in every of the sources stated.
Tasking Driscoll with the diplomacy was additionally a recognition that Hegseth’s relationship with the Ukrainians soured early on in his tenure, one in every of the sources stated. The Pentagon chief paused US weapons shipments to the nation a number of instances with out informing them — or the White House — first, NCS has reported. Hegseth additionally prematurely dominated out Ukrainian membership of NATO at one in every of his first abroad conferences with allies in Brussels earlier this 12 months.
Still, Driscoll is inexperienced in diplomacy — significantly when it comes to coping with the Russians.
“I think that having Driscoll there, that is somebody who is trusted in Trump world, is important,” stated former US Ambassador to Poland Daniel Fried. But “you need somebody with Driscoll who understands the details, because the Russians can be expected to throw various curveballs” that will not appear to be curveballs.
“You need somebody who can detect the stink bombs,” Fried added.
NCS’s Jennifer Hansler contributed reporting.