TL;DR
- Dan Driscoll, the US army secretary, is playing a pivotal role in peace negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian officials in the UAE.
- He holds a significant position within the Pentagon and enjoys bipartisan support, despite reported tensions with the secretary of war, Pete Hegseth.
- Recently, Driscoll presented a critical 28-point peace plan to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
Ukraine war latest: Zelenskyy set to visit US to ‘make peace deal’ with Trump | World News
Dan Driscoll has emerged as a key figure in recent peace negotiations – and one to watch.
The US army secretary is reportedly in the UAE today, hosting not-so-secret talks with Russian and Ukrainian officials.
But you could be forgiven for being unaware of his involvement until now. US correspondent Mark Stone explains his role…
As army secretary, he is one of the top civilians within the Pentagon.
He leads the US Department of the Army, which is one of the three military departments within the Department of War (formerly the Department of Defence, before a Trump rebrand).
In the hierarchy, he sits just under Pete Hegseth, the secretary of war, but the speculation in Washington is that there is tension between the two of them.
Hegseth can’t fire or purge Driscoll, though, because he is a close friend of the vice president.
He and JD Vance were at Yale together and Trump likes him.
Unusually for a Trump official, he also enjoys bipartisan popularity.
It was Driscoll who was sent to present the 28-point plan to Zelenskyy in Kyiv three days ago.