Who is Trump’s ‘drone guy’ taking central role in Ukraine peace talks?

When talks to end the Russia-Ukraine war took an unexpected turn last week with the leak of a peace plan purportedly from the United States, the Trump administration sent an unexpected person to attend meetings abroad.

Dan Driscoll, 39, the youngest secretary of the military ever, is often referred to as President Donald Trump’s “drone man” for his embrace of emerging battlefield technologies. Until recently, the military’s largest branch was mostly known for controversies over budget, materiel and personnel issues.

Driscoll does not appear to have a long history of dealing with Russia and Ukraine or experience in international diplomacy and has never held public office.

So, who is this name that is becoming increasingly prominent within the administration?

It was Driscoll’s relationship with current vice president J.D. Vance that brought him into Trump’s orbit.

Like his friend Vance, Driscoll attended a community college before joining the U.S. Army and then earning his law degree from the prestigious Yale University. Both men worked in finance after graduation.

During his military career, Driscoll became an officer in 2007, led a cavalry platoon, and served in Iraq for several months in 2009.

He told the story of meeting Vance through his former law school student group; Meanwhile, Vance reassured new students that they would feel as if they didn’t belong at first, but after a few months they would do well in classes. Soon Vance became Driscoll’s friend and mentor.

While Driscoll was on vacation with his family in Switzerland in the summer of 2024, Vance called him, told him he would be Trump’s running mate, and asked him to join the campaign.

The next day, Driscoll flew back to the United States, bought a suit at an outlet mall and took an Uber to the Republican National Convention, he told the alumni magazine of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, where he was an undergraduate.

When Trump returned to office, Driscoll was quickly confirmed as secretary of the military in a Senate confirmation vote. His sphere of influence expanded after he became a key figure in Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to US cities. He later served as acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Driscoll speaks frequently about the war in Ukraine, noting that Ukrainian drones are a relatively cheap, mass-produced technology suitable for warfare.

But after being nominated for the post of army secretary, he did not initially appear to be involved in negotiations to end the war. Trump instead relied on his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to work on the ceasefire plan.

Details of the 28-item plan prepared by the USA and Russia were announced It was leaked last weekUkraine immediately expressed concern on some key points, and its European allies did the same.

Driscoll later made an unannounced visit to Ukraine with other senior Pentagon figures, the highest-ranking military group to travel to Kiev since Trump took office in January. The purpose was to meet with Ukrainian officials and discuss efforts to end the war, according to a U.S. Army spokesman.

Driscoll met Zelensky and was then hosted at a reception at the US ambassador’s residence, according to Politico.

In the following days, Driscoll participated in more meetings with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Witkoff, and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as Ukrainian officials in Geneva, and helped prepare a draft. “Updated and refined peace framework”.

According to the BBC’s US partner CBS News, he held talks with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi.

In his post on social media on Tuesday, Trump said that he directed his envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to finalize the peace plan. He said Driscoll would meet with the Ukrainian side.

In nominating Driscoll as secretary of the military, Trump wrote that he had “a powerful combination of experience to serve as a disruptor and change agent.”

Some in Washington wonder whether those qualities and his recent arrival on the world stage mean Driscoll could one day replace Pete Hegseth if Hegseth leaves his post as defense secretary.

Although he has never held public office, Driscoll worked in Congress as an intern on the Senate senior affairs committee and made an unsuccessful bid for a House seat in North Carolina in 2020. A former professor suggested that Driscoll aimed to “serve in the military, go to law school and go into politics.”

There’s also the possibility that Driscoll could formally step into a negotiating role with Ukraine after the January departure of Trump’s special envoy to the country, Keith Kellogg.

Or he could remain in charge of hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the US Army. Driscoll has previously emphasized that his father and grandfather served in the military before him and has often spoken of his vision for transforming the Army.

Days before leaving for Ukraine, Driscoll told The Conversation podcast how he envisioned the near future where “every infantryman will carry a drone into battle” and soldiers will rely on artificial intelligence because the human brain “can’t keep up” with the speed of movement.

“Our window for change is now,” he said in a speech in October. “And we will win not with the blood and bodies of our soldiers, but with silicon and software.”