Former Arizona Governor Doug Ducey urged the federal government to take a harder line against the Chinese Communist Party’s influence operations, telling reporters this week that “there’s no substitute for leadership out of the Oval Office.”
Ducey was launching a report on how state-level leaders can play a role in responding to Beijing’s malign actions. The 64-page paper, published by State Armor and Citizens for Free Enterprise Action, features contributions from top national security experts, including former Trump national security adviser Robert O’Brien and former deputy national security adviser Matt Pottinger.
The intelligence community and State Department have warned state and local officials that China seeks to influence them as part of broader campaigns to isolate Taiwan internationally, improve Beijing’s own position, and lobby Washington against policies that the Chinese Communist Party opposes. But, as National Review reported last year, the State Department facilitated interactions between unwitting local officials and a Chinese Communist Party “friendship” organization.
Ducey said federal warnings about these matters were few and far between and that the only time he was briefed on the matter was when then–Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave a speech on the topic at the National Governors Association meeting in 2020.
“The communications from the federal government from leadership at State and Defense and the Oval Office will go a long way, as well as any legislation that’s necessary, whether that’s around ByteDance or leaders at the state level moving model legislation forward,” he said, responding to a question from National Review.
“If governors are anything, they’re competitive with each other, and if their citizens are asking what’s being done on this, I think you’ll see that kind of alignment to have an effective response and really to maximize federalism for what can be its best attributes.”
Michael Lucci, the founder and CEO of State Armor, which lobbies state legislatures to pass bills pertaining to China, said his organization will continue to work across several states this year, including Arizona, Nebraska, and Texas.
“What would simplify life at the state level is if President Trump and Congress go after the really bad actors,” he said, referring to a range of illegal activities undertaken by Chinese regime-linked organizations, including organized criminal networks.