Republicans in my adopted N.C. state make me feel all stabby, and their vote to strip power from the incoming governor, attorney general, and other incoming Democratic leaders is another example of why. This move was under the $227 million in relief aid meant for victims of Hurricane Helene.
If this move to strip powers from the Democratic Governor sounds familiar, Scott Walker pulled the same stunt after Tony Evers defeated him in 2018. And North Carolina Republican lawmakers took similar actions following the 2016 elections, enacting sweeping changes to weaken the governor’s office in the days after Democrat Roy Cooper unseated Republican incumbent Pat McCrory.
WRAL reports:
The Republican-led North Carolina House advanced a bill Tuesday to earmark an additional $227 million in relief aid for victims of Hurricane Helene — a measure stuffed with unrelated provisions aimed at stripping power from the governor, attorney general, and other incoming Democratic leaders.
The effort comes on the heels of victories in this month’s elections by Democratic Governor-elect Josh Stein and Democrat Jeff Jackson, the congressman who won the race for attorney general.
The vote passed the House 63-46 late Tuesday. The state Senate is expected to approve the bill on Wednesday. If it passes the chamber, it would go to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who could approve it, veto it, or let it pass without signing it.
And, of course, Republicans could override Cooper’s veto.
The bill has skipped typical processes for debate and committee-level vetting, being released to the public just minutes before Tuesday’s session began. Republican leaders in the House and Senate met in secret to hammer out the details ahead of the vote.
You don’t see Democrats pulling this stunt behind closed doors to strip power from the opposition after they lose an election.
Multiple changes in the bill would limit the power of the attorney general, such as banning the office from taking stances in court that don’t align with the opinions of state legislative leaders, and banning the office from automatically being allowed to advocate for customers at the state commission that oversees Duke Energy and other utilities.
GOP Senate leader Phil Berger defended the move. And it gets worse. While Gov. Roy Cooper is in Washington, D.C., Wednesday pushing for hurricane funding, that makes Black Nazi Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson the acting governor.
According to WUNC, a source close to Robinson said he’s considering trying to sign into law a bill expected to pass the N.C. Senate this afternoon that would shift power away from Gov.-elect Josh Stein, incoming AG Josh Stein, and other newly elected Democrats.
But there’s this:
Cooper has called the bill a “power grab” that doesn’t do enough for Helene recovery, and all Democrats and three House Republicans voted against the measure — a sign Cooper would likely veto.
If Robinson were to take action on the bill, it would likely touch off a legal battle over whether he has the power to do so. Cooper’s team has said in the past that the governor remains in charge even when he’s outside the state, but no lieutenant governor in recent memory has tested constitutional interpretations by signing or vetoing legislation while the governor is traveling.
Josh Stein called them out.
This isn’t normal.
North Carolina is a great place to live, but the politics are fucked up.
