This law threatens public safety, fractures the chain of command during a crisis, and thwarts the will of voters,” Gov.-elect Josh Stein said in a statement.

SB 382, which was passed by Republicans via veto override, tied major power changes to Helene relief in western North Carolina.

With North Carolina Republicans set to lose their veto-proof supermajority come 2025, state lawmakers took their final vote Wednesday on a bill that takes away power from incoming Democrats in the executive branch, overturning a veto with a party-line 72-46 vote.

One day after the North Carolina House voted to make a controversial bill stripping power from Democrats into law, the governor and governor-elect are challenging the bill's constitutionality.

"Incredibly, Senate Bill 382 prohibits the Governor or anyone else from removing the legislatively appointed Commander for any reason—even if he were to commit serious criminal misconduct.”

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Gov.-elect Josh Stein filed their initial lawsuit Thursday challenging as unconstitutional a new law that the state legislature passed Wednesday over Cooper's veto.