A group of North Carolina Republicans filed a bill in the state legislature aiming to prevent the state’s Democratic Attorney General from suing President Donald Trump over his executive orders.
Senate Bill 58, as introduced by Republican state Sens. Eddie Settle, Tim Moffitt, and Bobby Hanig, would bar North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, a Democrat, from participating in a lawsuit to “advance any argument that would result in the invalidation of” any “executive order issued by the President of the United States.”
The legislation would continue GOP efforts to restrict what the attorney general may prosecute, which it began doing in December as Jackson prepared to take office. The Republican-led legislature passed a bill which took appointment power for several state boards away from the governor, along with removing various powers from the state superintendent of public instruction.
The law also blocked the state attorney general from siding against the state review board for charter school applications and the state legislature’s position on laws. The legislation was vetoed by former Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, but was passed into law after the GOP overrode his veto.
As the Republicans aim to add additional restrictions to what Jackson may prosecute, they face the difficulty of not having a veto-proof majority in the state House. Should Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, choose to veto legislation, it would take at least one Democrat flipping to override the veto.
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Jackson has already added his name to legislation aiming to block an executive order from President Donald Trump regarding birthright citizenship. The Democrat joined other state attorneys general in seeking to block the order, arguing it is part of his job “to defend the Constitution.”
“As Attorney General, my role is straightforward as well: to defend the Constitution. That’s why I’ve joined this lawsuit, to uphold the rule of law and preserve the rights that have defined our nation for generations,” Jackson said in a statement about that lawsuit.