Who is Dan Driscoll, Trump's "drone guy," playing a crucial role in the negotiations over Ukraine?

The Trump administration sent an odd person to attend a flurry of international meetings as negotiations to settle the conflict between Russia and Ukraine took an unexpected turn last week due to the leak of a peace plan purportedly coming from the US.

Dan Driscoll, 39, the youngest army secretary in history, is frequently referred to as President Donald Trump's "drone guy" due to his adoption of cutting-edge military equipment. He was well-known until recently for talking about staff concerns, supply, and budgets in the biggest arm of the military.

Driscoll has never held public office and doesn't seem to have any experience in international diplomacy or dealing with Russia and Ukraine.

Who is this increasingly important person in the administration, then?

Vice President JD Vance's close ally

Driscoll became involved with Trump because of his friendship with JD Vance, the current vice president.

Similar to his friend Vance, Driscoll studied law at the esteemed Yale University after attending a public university before to enlisting in the US Army. After graduating, both guys went on to work in finance.

In his military career, Driscoll led a cavalry battalion, was promoted to commander in 2007, and spent six months in Iraq in 2009.

He recounted how he met Vance through a law school veterans' student organisation, where Vance informed prospective students that although they would initially feel alienated, they would succeed academically after a few months. Vance quickly became Driscoll's mentor and friend.

In the summer of 2024, Driscoll was on vacation with his family in Switzerland when Vance called to inform him that he would be Trump's running mate and to invite him to join the campaign.

Driscoll boarded an Uber to the Republican National Convention the following day after flying back to the US and purchasing a suit at an outlet mall.He told the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill's alumni magazine, where he studied as an undergraduate.

Driscoll was quickly confirmed as army secretary by the Senate once Trump took office again. After he played a significant role in Trump's deployment of the National Guard to US cities, his area of influence grew. He later assumed the position of acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Unexpected trip to Ukraine

Driscoll has frequently discussed the conflict in Ukraine, citing Ukrainian drones as a mass-produced, reasonably priced weapon.

However, he did not initially seem to be participating in talks to terminate the conflict after being nominated for the position of army secretary. Instead, Trump was depending on Steve Witkoff, his special envoy, to draft a ceasefire proposal.

Ukraine immediately expressed concerns about several of the main parts of a 28-point plan draughted by the US and Russia after it was leaked last week, and its European allies did the same.

Then, Driscoll and other senior Pentagon officials made an unexpected trip to Ukraine, making it the most senior military delegation to visit Kyiv since Trump took office in January. A US Army spokesman stated that the goal was to meet with Ukrainian officials and talk about efforts to put an end to the conflict.

After meeting Zelensky, Driscoll was feted at a reception at the US ambassador's home, according to Politico.

Along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Witkoff, and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, Driscoll took part in more talks with Ukrainian officials in Geneva over the next several days and contributed to the creation of a "updated and refined peace framework."

According to CBS News, the BBC's US partner, he then met with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi.

A future secretary of defence or an envoy?

Trump stated that Driscoll has a "powerful combination of experiences to serve as a disruptor and change agent" when he nominated him as his army secretary.

Some in Washington are speculating that Driscoll would eventually succeed Pete Hegseth as defence secretary if Hegseth ever resigns due to those attributes and his recent global appearance.

Driscoll served in Congress as an intern for the Senate's veteran affairs committee, although he has never held public office. In 2020, he unsuccessfully ran for a North Carolina House seat. According to a previous lecturer, Driscoll wanted "to serve in the military, go to law school and be in politics."

Additionally, when Trump's special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, departs in January, Driscoll may formally assume the role of negotiator.

Alternatively, he may continue leading the US Army's hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Driscoll frequently talks about his goal of changing the Army, and he has previously mentioned that both his father and grandpa were in the military before him.

A few days prior to travelling to Ukraine, Driscoll told The Conversation podcast about his vision of the near future, in which "every infantryman...will carry a drone into battle" and soldiers would depend on artificial intelligence since human brains would not be able to "keep up" with the speed of action.

"Our window to change is right now," he declared in an October speech. "And we will win with silicon and software, not our soldiers' blood and bodies."