Shades of All About Eve, with the obvious exception that Eve Harrington was an actual star whereas Pete Hegseth in his prime was a Fox News Saturday host, known for his photogenic appearance far more than for anything that ever came out of his mouth. The past ten months have not been kind to Hegseth, not a tall a tall. First he only squeaked by to confirmation with J.D. Vance breaking a tie vote, then there was SignalGate, then he managed to upset a great many military people with his obsession on appearance (above performance) and now he's being outshone by somebody who ranks beneath him.
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is proving to be a rising star in the Trump administration as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth struggles to move past his first-year missteps.
Driscoll landed in Kyiv this week, where he is playing a leading role in relaunched talks to end the war in Ukraine.
Secretary Driscoll is one of the highest-ranking U.S. government officials in the Trump administration to visit Ukraine to date and met face-to-face with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday.
There, he presented the 28-point peace plan members of the Trump administration have been quietly working on to end the war. Washington is pressuring Ukraine to agree the deal by Thanksgiving.
Zelensky said on Friday that the country is facing a "very difficult choice" between the "loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner" but vowed to propose its own alternatives as it looks for peace.
Driscoll's front and center role this week was a sharp contrast with Hegseth, who has not traveled to Ukraine.
And where was Hegseth all this time? Why, he stayed back in Washington so that he could hob nob with the Saudi prince and attend the big banquet. Actually, in all truth, nobody was relieved more than Zelensky, if we could only get him aside and ask him.
So while Hegseth is decrying wokeness and facial hair and partying with MBS, we learn that Driscoll "participated in a couple of high-profile interviews in the days before traveling overseas for his sit-down with top Ukrainian officials." And then it gets worse for Hegseth. Trump is all in favor of this.
The Army secretary's growing prominence in the Pentagon and administration overall has President Donald Trump's blessing, according to a report from Politico.
"There's not a lot of trust in Hegseth to deliver these messages to key leaders," a person familiar with the dynamics told the publication. "There is more trust in Dan to do that right now."
Driscoll happens to be a close ally of Vice President JD Vance, with whom he went to Yale Law School. He also served in the Army for three and a half years, deploying to Iraq.
Trump likes Driscoll and Vance went to law school with him? Aye aye aye. It's going to be a real kegger in Hegseth's apartment tonight. Look for the recycling dumpster to be chock full to the brim with empty bottles.