The Senate held votes on two major pieces of legislation in the North Carolina General Assembly. Senate Bill 58, entitled AG/Restrict Challenge to Presidential EOs, would prohibit North Carolina’s Attorney General Jeff Jackson from participating in any legal action that would invalidate an executive order from Trump.
Jackson, who beat his Republican opponent Dan Bishop in the November election last year, has joined the state of North Carolina in several lawsuits against Trump’s divisive executive orders, including his executive orders that terminate birthright citizenship and freeze federal funding.
Supporters of the bill see this as a necessity, arguing that these lawsuits are not the purpose of the attorney general. Sen. Timothy Moffitt (R-Henderson), the bill’s sponsor, argues that if there was a need to intervene in the matters of executive orders the state lawmakers would handle it, not the attorney general. “I just think that anything that would rise to a level of concern, this General Assembly is capable of interceding,” Moffitt said in February.
Senate members who support the bill see it as necessary while critics see the bill as damaging to the most prominent tool we have against attacks from the federal level; the attorney general. The attorney general has been referred to as the lawyer of the state, defending against bad policies and practices that harm the people of the state. Many argue that’s exactly what Jackson is doing by participating in these lawsuits. By taking away his ability to do so, it leaves North Carolina defenseless. “With this bill, we kneel to the president,” Sen. Terence Everitt (D-Granville) said. “And with this bill, North Carolina will always kneel.”
The bill passed the Senate 29-19, with all present Republicans voting in favor and all present Democrats voting against it, and with that, it was sent to the state House.
The Senate also voted on the newest hurricane relief package, but not before adding a few amendments to the bill. House Bill 47, entitled Disaster Recovery Act of 2025 – Part I, marks the third hurricane relief package for Hurricane Helene survivors but this bill also designated funds for survivors of hurricanes Matthew and Florence out in eastern NC. This package includes $545 million for Helene recovery efforts and $217 million for ReBuild NC, which leads the recovery efforts out east. The Senate approved amendments to the bill that would appoint $4.5 million to fund summer schooling for schools in western North Carolina as well as $192 million for agricultural recovery.
The bill passed the Senate with a full bipartisan unanimous vote. “I appreciate the fact that it was a unanimous vote here in the Senate, and looking forward to the House concurring with the changes that we’ve made,” Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) said. The House did not confirm the changes that were made to the bill. Instead, the body voted to table the bill, with House Republicans saying they need more time to consider the bill.
