NC Republicans moving to block AG Jeff Jackson from suing Trump over executive orders

Avi Bajpai, McClatchy Washington Bureau on Feb 17, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

As Democratic state leaders ramp up their legal battles with President Donald Trump over his executive actions, Republicans in the General Assembly are moving to block North Carolina’s top lawyer from joining those fights.

Legislation advancing in the N.C. House in the coming weeks would prevent Attorney General Jeff Jackson, who has already joined a number of lawsuits challenging the legality of Trump’s early actions, from participating in any litigation that seeks to invalidate Trump’s executive orders.

Trump has moved quickly in the first few weeks of his second term to pursue his agenda through executive orders, signing more than 60 of them so far. Democratic state attorneys general have moved just as fast to challenge the actions in court, and in many cases, they’ve succeeded in getting federal judges to temporarily block them from going into effect.

Jackson has joined other Democratic state attorneys general in suing Trump over his executive order that sought to end birthright citizenship, his administration’s efforts to freeze certain federal grants and other funding pending a review of spending, and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk being granted access to U.S. Treasury payment systems.

The lawsuits have alleged the Trump administration’s policies violate the U.S. Constitution and federal law. After he sued over the freeze on federal grants, Jackson said the effort to block those funds was “plainly unconstitutional” and would have caused “widespread and immediate damage across our state.”

After the National Institutes of Health announced last week a 15% cap on grant funding for indirect medical research payments, far lower than the rates UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University had previously negotiated, Jackson joined 21 other Democratic state attorneys general in suing over what they said was an “unlawful” funding cut.

Later that day, a federal judge in Massachusetts issued a temporary restraining order blocking the NIH cuts from proceeding.

The legislation filed by GOP lawmakers is short and straightforward. The 15-line bill blocks the attorney general from joining as a party, amicus, or any other participant, in any legal actions brought in state or federal courts that seek to invalidate any executive order issued by the president.

It’s been filed in both the House and the Senate, though it’s the House which is taking it up first. The bill was originally scheduled to be taken up by the House Federal Relations and American Indian Affairs Committee on Wednesday morning, but it’ll now be heard a week later on Feb. 26. Several committee meetings and a House voting session planned for this week have been canceled due to the incoming winter storm.

The bill was introduced in the House by GOP Reps. Keith Kidwell, Wyatt Gable, Blair Eddins and Ben Moss. GOP Sens. Eddie Settle, Bobby Hanig and Tim Moffitt are primary sponsors in the Senate.

Weighing in on the bill last week, Senate leader Phil Berger said the attorney general should be focused on the state.

Berger said that North Carolinians have backed Trump and his agenda in three consecutive elections.

“I think, at least as far as I’m concerned, and most of the folks that I’ve talked to that voted for President Trump, they had a good feeling of what they were going to get with him,” Berger told reporters, “and I think it’s unfortunate that we have an attorney general, and our previous attorney general who’s now the governor, who felt like it was incumbent upon them to express their personal views in litigating against the federal government.”

He added: “I’d rather have an attorney general that’s concentrating on what’s happening in North Carolina, making sure that folks who are convicted of crimes, that when those things are appealed, that we’ve got good representation in the appellate courts, and actually moving forward with supporting and actually litigating cases on behalf of the people of the state of North Carolina, and the laws that have been passed by the legislature.”

This effort to rein in Jackson’s powers comes after the legislature successfully limited the incoming Democratic attorney general’s powers in December with legislation that prohibits Jackson from taking positions on state laws being challenged in court that are different from the positions maintained by GOP legislative leaders.

That bill also blocked Jackson from taking positions in court that would lead to a state law being struck down.

That bill became law last December over Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto at a time when Republicans held supermajorities in both chambers of the legislature. Now, after the November election, the GOP is one seat short of a supermajority in the House.

Nazneen Ahmed, a spokeswoman for Jackson, declined to comment on the new effort by GOP lawmakers to stop him from challenging Trump’s executive orders.

Jackson responded to the efforts by Republicans to limit his powers after he was elected in November, saying at the time that his mission as attorney general “is to stand up for people,” and adding that he and his team “will overcome any obstacle to accomplish that mission.”