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... Driscoll, a close friend of Vice President JD Vance, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday and planned to talk to NATO allies. The high-profile role for Driscoll -- whom President Donald Trump refers to as his "drone guy" due to his embrace of cutting-edge tech -- is emblematic of the Army chief's rising prominence in the administration.

He is increasingly the public face of ambitious projects and often sells the administration's plans to reporters, unlike Hegseth, who has focused on the less glamorous tasks of promoting acquisition reform and troop physical fitness, and eliminated most journalists from the Pentagon.

The Army leader's visit was a profound split screen between a rising star and a novice Pentagon chief who has faced numerous scandals and lost support from some in the administration.

"There's not a lot of trust in Hegseth to deliver these messages to key leaders," said a person familiar with administration dynamics. "There is more trust in Dan to do that right now." ...