State Armor was founded in early 2024 to help states enact policies to combat the influence of the People’s Republic of China and other adversaries of the United States. ¹

Background

China is pursuing a strategy to gain economic leverage with state and local governments by creating dependency among governments on Chinese technologies. ² State Armor says it wants to be a “go-to source for research and education on state solutions.” ³

Upon launching, the organization said it was active in more than a dozen states. ⁴

American Global Strategies chief executive officer Alex Gray, a former deputy assistant to the president and chief of staff of the White House National Security Council during the Trump administration, “will throw his weight behind the group,” Fox News reported. ⁵

Policy Advocacy

State Armor focuses on four primary areas: protecting critical infrastructure, establishing “supply chains of freedom,” stopping influence operations, and preparing a state-contingent supply chain if China invades Taiwan. ⁶

On protecting critical infrastructure, State Armor says states should remove “any equipment and infrastructure built, powered by, or dependent on foreign adversaries,” and prohibit foreign adversaries from investing in critical infrastructure, prohibit land sales to adversarial nations, and determine what adversaries should be denied access to state digital infrastructure. ⁷

The organization calls for “building supply chains of freedom” by buying products and services from only free nations. It specifically calls for replacing the source of drones, telecommunications and radar equipment, port crane software, genetic sequencing devices, and laser surveillance technologies. The group also advocates for states building tax incentives to reshore critical supply chains. ⁸

The group says that state leaders should “expose and shut down foreign influence operations” that include harassment of students and scholars on campus, illegal police stations, and fentanyl coming across the border. ⁹

State Armor calls for states to prepare for a disruption in case of conflict between China and Taiwan. The group says, “states should audit procurement supply chains in order to assess the risk of disruption in the event of a Pacific conflict, and create a contingency plan against the risk of supply chain disruption.” The group also says the National Guard should work with executive agencies to determine state assets that would need physical protection. ¹⁰

Leadership

Michael Lucci is the founder and chief executive officer of State Armor. Lucci is a former senior fellow at the Cicero Institute, a former senior policy advisor to the State Policy Network, and a senior tax advisor to the Platte Institute. Lucci was previously a presidential appointee on the Federal Services Impasse Panel and was the chief of policy to former Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner (R-IL). He was also the former vice president of state projects at the Tax Foundation and former vice president of policy at the Illinois Policy Institute. ¹¹

Jakob Dupuis is the policy lead at State Armor. Dupuis was previously a policy analyst at the Cicero Institute. ¹²

Chuck DeVore is a member of the board of directors for State Armor. DeVore is the chief national initiatives officer at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. He was a member of the California State Assembly for six years and was vice chairman of the Committee on Revenue and Taxation as well as a member of the Budget Committee. In the 1980s, he was a special assistant for foreign affairs in the U.S. Department of Defense, and was formerly an executive in the aerospace industry for 13 years. ¹³

Henrik Rasmussen is a member of the board of directors for State Armor. Rasmussen is the executive director of the Institute for Science and International Security. He is formerly the vice president of health care and economic progress at Stand Together. Before that, he was president of Argonne Ventures, a consulting firm focused on investment projects in the technology, defense, and natural resources sectors. He was also co-founder and managing director of Cimbria Capital, a private equity firm. ¹⁴

1. Schoffstall, Joe. “New group launches to combat Chinese Communist Party influence across US: ‘Poses a major threat’” Fox News. January 31, 2024. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-group-launches-combat-chinese-communist-party-influence-across-us-poses-threat
2. ^[1] Press Release. “CTT Allies Heritage Action and State Armor Helping Fuel State-Level Momentum to Ban Dangerous Chinese Technology.” China Tech Threat. February 8, 2024. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://chinatechthreat.com/ctt-allies-heritage-action-and-state-armor-helping-fuel-state-level-momentum-to-ban-dangerous-chinese-technology/
3. “About Us.” State Armor. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://statearmor.org/about-us/
4. Schoffstall, Joe. “New group launches to combat Chinese Communist Party influence across US: ‘Poses a major threat’” Fox News. January 31, 2024. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-group-launches-combat-chinese-communist-party-influence-across-us-poses-threat
5. Schoffstall, Joe. “New group launches to combat Chinese Communist Party influence across US: ‘Poses a major threat’” Fox News. January 31, 2024. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-group-launches-combat-chinese-communist-party-influence-across-us-poses-threat
6. Schoffstall, Joe. “New group launches to combat Chinese Communist Party influence across US: ‘Poses a major threat’” Fox News. January 31, 2024. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-group-launches-combat-chinese-communist-party-influence-across-us-poses-threat
7. “Protecting Critical Infrastructure.” Accessed March 8, 2024. https://statearmor.org/protecting-critical-infrastructure/
8.  “Building Supply Chains of Freedom.” State Armor. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://statearmor.org/building-supply-chains-of-freedom/
9. “Stopping Influence Operations.” State Armor. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://statearmor.org/stopping-influence-operations/
10. “Preparing for Pacific Conflict.” State Armor. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://statearmor.org/preparing-for-pacific-conflict/
11. “Michael Lucci.” State Armor. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://statearmor.org/about-us/michael-lucci/
12. “Jakob Dupuis.” State Armor. Accessed March 8, 2024. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://statearmor.org/about-us/jakob-dupuis/
13. “Chuck DeVore.” State Armor. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://statearmor.org/about-us/chuck-devore/
14. “Henrik Rasmussen.” State Armor. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://statearmor.org/about-us/henrik-rasmussen/