Who succeeded Kellogg and why Trump entrusted Ukraine specifically to him
When Russian terrorists attacked Ukraine early on the morning of 19 November, a train carrying the highest-level US delegation of Donald Trump’s era was en route to Kyiv.
Leading this delegation was Dan Driscoll – one of the Pentagon’s top civilian officials, serving as the US Secretary of the Army. He was accompanied by several four-star generals, that is, the highest military commanders of the US Army.
He held several meetings with Ukrainian officials to understand their position and then, in Geneva, took part in finalising a plan to take Kyiv’s requests into account.
In essence, Driscoll has taken over the functions previously performed by Keith Kellogg.
Read more about who the American official now entrusted with Ukraine is, why he received this role and what to expect from him in the article by Sergiy Sydorenko, European Pravda's editor: A replacement for Kellogg? Who is Dan Driscoll, whom Trump entrusted with negotiations with Ukraine.
Unlike Keith Kellogg, his successor, US Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, knew as little as one could possibly imagine about Ukraine and the Russian-Ukrainian war until November.
According to several unrelated sources, before his visit to Kyiv, once it became known that Trump gave him a special assignment, Driscoll urgently consulted American experts and former officials, trying to understand the essence of the war in Ukraine and what Trump’s meeting with Putin in Anchorage had actually been about.
These consultations reflect extremely positively on Driscoll. He tries to understand what he is doing and to grasp the real picture. He is not Witkoff, whose proposals sometimes demonstrate complete detachment from reality.
But this is not the only and probably not the main reason why US President Donald Trump chose him.
US media often emphasise a coincidence: since Driscoll, "the man in charge of drones" in the US Army, was already headed to Kyiv on drone-related matters, he might as well bring the document. But this is only part of the picture.
Dan Driscoll enjoys Trump’s personal favour and has repeatedly been granted additional authority.
Driscoll’s first success came from cutting Pentagon defence contracts.
"He has been unequivocal and uncompromising with the military-industrial complex, your big companies that are used to business as usual. They come in and he will laugh them out of the room if they’re trying to pitch the typical kind of sales pitch that the administration recognises is out of date and unwise," one source told New York Post.
These actions show Driscoll’s ability to break stereotypes and propose solutions that go against popular approaches. In his rare interviews, Driscoll has highlighted this very quality as something he values in others.
The true turning point for Driscoll came when he proved he was ready to carry out Trump’s sensitive and controversial assignments and to do it efficiently.
Starting in August, Trump issued several orders deploying the US National Guard to maintain order in major cities, mostly led by Democrats. In this way, the US president publicly emphasised the ineffectiveness of local police forces.
All of Trump’s orders were carried out, and the president was pleased with the results. In September, in the Oval Office, he publicly introduced Driscoll to the public as a super-effective member of his team: "Look at that sweet face! And yet he’s a killer."
The National Guard episodes boosted the president’s trust in Driscoll even further. And his Pentagon work demonstrated his ability to conduct tough and effective negotiations.
This is a sufficient set of qualities to receive the "portfolio" of the Ukraine file.
Despite the fact that the Secretary of the Army currently enjoys Trump’s personal favour, he is nonetheless considered "the man of US Vice President JD Vance."