North Carolina Republicans Look to Block Top Democrats From Challenging Trump

Lawmakers are using legislation to stop their governor and attorney general from thwarting Trump’s agenda.

State Sen. Jeff Jackson, Democrat candidate for North Carolina attorney general, speaks at a campaign event for Democrat presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in Charlotte, N.C., Sept. 12, 2024. Nell Redmond/AP Photo

Republican lawmakers in North Carolina are seeking to wield their legislative power to compel the state’s new governor and attorney general, both Democrats, to get in line with President Donald Trump’s agenda.

The state’s GOP-led General Assembly has introduced multiple bills that aim to assist the Trump administration’s efforts to curb illegal immigration and block lawsuits challenging his policies.

A measure introduced on March 6 by House Speaker Destin Hall requires state law enforcement to hold a jailed illegal immigrant longer upon receipt of a detainer and administrative warrant and expands the list of crimes that prompt verification of a suspect’s immigration status.

Another bill that passed the North Carolina Senate on March 4 would require certain state law enforcement agencies that report to Gov. Josh Stein to cooperate with federal immigration officials.

That cooperation would require officials from the Department of Public Safety, State Highway Patrol, and Department of Adult Correction to receive immigration enforcement training under the federal 287(g) program, which allows the delegation of certain immigration enforcement functions to state and local officials.

The bill also mandates that Stein’s budget office investigate whether any illegal immigrants are unlawfully receiving state benefits.

“North Carolina made it very clear in November that they support Donald J. Trump,” state Sen. Buck Newton, the bill’s sponsor, said on March 4.

“Part of the reason for that support is his steadfast commitment to regaining control of our borders. We need to take further steps.”

A nationwide illegal immigration crackdown was one of Trump’s top promises while on the stump last year.

While that operation is underway, the administration has faced pushback from officials in Democrat-run states, including North Carolina.

Former U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson, the state’s new attorney general, has sued the administration several times since Trump took office on Jan. 20.

Along with other Democrat attorneys general, he has challenged Trump’s birthright citizenship policy, National Institutes of Health funding cuts, and more.

Republicans are hoping to stop that list from growing.

Legislation advanced by a North Carolina Senate panel on March 5 would forbid Jackson from filing a lawsuit or advancing “any argument” that would result in the invalidation of an executive order of the president.

Senate leader Phil Berger argued that Jackson is “fighting against policies that the people of the state heard articulated by President Trump and voted for.”

The attorney general, however, says challenging “unlawful” executive orders is fundamental to his role.

“An important part of this job is being a shield against unlawful federal acts that would undercut our economy and hurt our future,” he said on March 6. “For the good of our state, that shield should remain in place.”

The bills are not the first Republican lawmakers have put forward in recent months to limit the powers of Democrat leadership.

In December, they used their veto-proof majority to enact a measure that stripped the governor of his ability to appoint members to the State Board of Elections and limited his options for filling certain judicial vacancies.

The same law bars the attorney general from taking a position contrary to that of the General Assembly in litigation challenging state laws.

As Republicans no longer have that supermajority, they would need to convince at least one Democrat to join them if they were to override any future vetoes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.