The North Carolina Senate pushed forward legislation to bar the Democratic state attorney general from filing lawsuits against presidential executive orders.
Senate Bill 58 passed in a 29-19 party-line vote, with Republicans in the supermajority pushing the legislation forward for consideration in the state House. The bill would disable the state attorney general 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.” A House version of the bill is currently awaiting action in the other chamber.
The legislation was introduced by a group of Republicans and would hamper the powers of state Attorney General Jeff Jackson, a Democrat. Democrats opposed the measure while it was debated on the state Senate floor on Tuesday.
“We should not take away the Attorney General’s ability to represent the citizens of the state of North Carolina when he has the opportunity to defend our state for jobs, for funding, for health care, for things that our people desperately need,” Democratic state Sen. Graig Meyer said, according to the Carolina Journal.
Jackson has also made his opposition to the proposed measure clear, citing his own lawsuit, alongside other state attorneys general aiming to block federal funding cuts to research at universities. He stated that the lawsuit is a reason “why North Carolina needs an Attorney General who has the authority to challenge unlawful executive orders.”
Yesterday proved why North Carolina needs an Attorney General who has the authority to challenge unlawful executive orders.
We won an injunction against an order that would have cut hundreds of millions in research funding from our public universities and research institutions -…
— Jeff Jackson (@JeffJacksonNC) March 6, 2025
“It was a reminder that an important part of this job is being a shield against unlawful federal acts that would undercut our economy and hurt our future. For the good of our state, that shield should remain in place,” Jackson said in a post on X earlier this month.
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If enacted, the bill would continue Republican efforts to restrict what the attorney general may prosecute, which it began doing late last year as Jackson prepared to take office.
The GOP-led legislature passed a bill that 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, which was passed last year, overrode a gubernatorial veto and blocked the state attorney general from siding against the state review board for charter school applications and the state legislature’s position on laws.