N.C. Republicans file bill to block attorney general from suing over Trump's orders

On Wednesday, Feb. 5, Republicans in the N.C. General Assembly proposed a bill that would prevent the attorney general from challenging presidential executive orders.

The bill comes after North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson initiated four separate lawsuits against executive orders from the Trump Administration, over freezing federal funds, revoking funds from health care institutions, financial data privacy and birthright citizenship. 

N.C. Rep. Renée Price (D-Caswell, Orange) said she doesn’t see the merit in the bill, as the attorney general has challenged presidential executive orders in the past. 

“The attorney general has had that ability and that authority in the past, and it's only by recent action that this power is being taken away without any clear, concrete reasons other than to try to push a specific agenda,” Price said in regards to present lawsuits on behalf of North Carolina.  

 Andy Jackson, director for the Civitas Center for Public Integrity at the John Locke Foundation, a conservative North Carolina think tank, said these suits amount to policy decisions from Jeff Jackson.

He said if the General Assembly disagrees and supports President Trump’s executive orders, the bill is justified. Andy Jackson said the attorney general’s lawsuits may even be seen as an attempt to subvert President Trump’s election victory. 

“There is a concern, I believe, among legislators that Jackson is going to try to win in the courts what could not win at the ballot box,” Jackson said. 

Jackson said he also sees how these restrictions threaten the ability for the executive branch to do its job, but it’s an open question as to whether this bill achieves that effect.

Lydia Lavelle, a law professor at North Carolina Central University, said the scope of the bill is too much of a blanket statement, and a good argument could be made that this bill is unconstitutional. She said unconstitutional bills are proposed all of the time, but passing them is a different story. 

“If something like this was passed, I imagine our attorney general, if he felt it was in the best interest of the citizens of North Carolina, the residents of North Carolina, would probably challenge it in the courts,” Lavelle said. 

Jon Guze, lawyer and senior fellow at the John Locke Foundation, said the state constitution gives the General Assembly the power to define the duties of the attorney general.  

Guze said he would not be surprised if the bill passed the legislature, but that it's unlikely the bill goes into effect because of the probability of a veto from Gov. Josh Stein. 

“The General Assembly will have a chance to override it, but they need a two-third’s majority, and they don’t have that right now,” Guze said.

Guze also said he thinks this bill could be an opportunity for Republican legislators to signal party loyalty. 

Price said the bill is part of an ongoing attempt from North Carolina Republicans to take power away from newly elected Democratic officials. 

Last December the NCGA passed Senate Bill 382, which removed the governor’s ability to appoint members to the state elections board, as well as transferred the power of overseeing the board from the secretary of state to the state auditor. The current Secretary of State Elaine Marshall is a Democratic incumbent, while State Auditor Dave Boliek is a Republican newcomer.

Former Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the law, but a Republican supermajority overrode his veto. 

“I appreciate having different points of view, and I like to listen to people who come from a different background,” Price said. “However, what’s happening right now is more retaliation.”

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