The North Carolina Senate voted along party lines to ban Attorney General Jeff Jackson from suing the president over any executive orders — a surprise vote announced only moments ahead of time.
Jackson and other state attorneys general have recently sued, and defeated, the White House on several fronts, including winning court rulings that have blocked Trump’s attack on birthright citizenship and prevented his slashing of medical research grants that fund thousands of jobs in North Carolina.
“If a future executive order threatens North Carolina’s industries and jobs, where would the people of North Carolina turn to to find recourse?” asked Sen. Mujtaba Mohammed (D-Mecklenburg). “Should we just remain silent?”
The lead sponsor of the bill, Sen. Tim Moffitt (R-Henderson), said lawmakers could find additional ways to retaliate against Jackson if he continues challenging Trump’s agenda, and might simply repeal every state law that gives the attorney general any powers or duties.
“Just zero it out,” Moffitt said. “That way, the attorney general is just a feckless, empty shell who has no ability to do anything.”
The Republican legislature has previously used the state budget to punish Democratic leaders. When Josh Stein was in his first year as attorney general in 2017, GOP lawmakers slashed his budget by millions of dollars in what was seen as retaliation for litigation Stein had filed against Trump and the state legislature.
In December of last year, the legislature slashed a number of other powers of the AG’s office in a bill targeting Jackson as well as new Gov. Josh Stein and other Democrats. In part, they banned Jackson from arguing in court that anything the legislature does is unconstitutional.
Republicans in the General Assembly did not stop there. They also recently approved a bill that would force some law enforcement agencies who report to Gov. Josh Stein to cooperate with federal immigration agents. Pro-immigrant advocates say the bill would harm economic sectors that rely on immigrant labor and disrupt communities already worried about Trump’s crackdown.
No Republican has won an election for attorney general in North Carolina since the 1800s. Only 3 Republicans have been elected governor since 1901. And now, following another series of defeats in 2024, GOP leaders are pushing to further limit the influence of offices that they struggle to win.
