A governor veto of a measure that deprives the state’s new Democratic leaders of important authority was overridden by Republican legislators in North Carolina.
In a party-line vote on Wednesday, the GOP-led state House of Representatives overrode outgoing Democratic Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of legislation.
That is supposedly intended to aid hurricane victims but also undermines the power of statewide positions that Democrats won in last month’s election, such as attorney general and governor.
The measure will now take effect after the Republican-controlled state Senate overrode Cooper’s veto last week, but legal challenges are anticipated.
Republicans have come under fire from Democrats for the action coming just before the new year and after the 2024 election, when the GOP is expected to lose its legislative supermajority.
“Western North Carolina small businesses and communities still wait for support from the legislature while Republicans make political power grabs the priority,” Cooper stated in a press release. “Shameful.”
