North Carolina’s highest court on Friday upheld a law subjecting the governor’s choices to run his top agencies to confirmation votes by the state Senate, providing a legal victory to Republican legislators.
The state Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of GOP legislative leaders who passed the confirmation requirement for Cabinet secretaries just before Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper took office in early 2017.
Cooper sued over the new process, calling it unconstitutional. The law was among several changes approved in an extraordinary December 2016 session that eroded or checked powers of Cooper, who had just narrowly defeated then-GOP Gov. Pat McCrory.
Lower courts sided with GOP lawmakers on their right to reject the governor’s appointments to run at least 10 Cabinet-level agencies, with responsibilities ranging from paving roads and collecting taxes to securing prisoners.
Writing for the court Friday, Chief Justice Mark Martin said the confirmation requirement doesn’t violate the constitutional principle of separating the powers and duties of the executive and legislative branches.
“The governor has unfettered power to nominate any eligible individual to serve in his Cabinet, has significant supervisory power over his Cabinet members, and has the power to remove Cabinet members at will,” Martin wrote. “The constitution, moreover, does not otherwise prohibit the General Assembly from requiring senatorial confirmation of members of the governor’s Cabinet.”
The state constitution says the governor “shall nominate and by and with the advice and consent of a majority of the senators appoint all officers whose appointments are not otherwise provided for.” It provided the basis for the law requiring Cabinet approval, which was enforced during the litigation. After some parliamentary fighting over secretaries making committee appearances, all of Cooper’s nominees were confirmed in Senate votes in 2017.
The governor’s choices to the state Utilities Commission, Industrial Commission and Board of Education already are subject to legislative confirmation.
In October, Cooper’s lawyers argued before the justices that although the General Assembly has the power to shape the duties of Cabinet-level agencies, it can’t interfere with how the governor carries out those duties or whom he hires to help him.
There were no dissenting opinions among the seven-member court. Four of the seven justices are registered Democrats.
Martin, a registered Republican, wrote that Cabinet confirmation differed from recent court rulings in which a majority of justices decided the legislature had gone too far in choosing at least half of the members of certain state boards and commissions. That included recent iterations of the state elections board, one version of which was approved in the December 2016 session.
Spokesmen for GOP legislative leaders and Cooper contacted Friday didn’t immediately comment on the ruling.
Otherwise, Cooper has had some success going to court to turn back laws approved in the 2016 session. In addition to blocking new compositions of the election board, he recently got trial court judges to rule that the legislature went too far in giving McCrory decision-making over who leads the Industrial Commission — which handles workers’ compensation cases — through Cooper’s entire four-year term.
Related Stories
‹
On the Porch: Tiffany Muller - End Citizens UnitedThis Week:
Tiffany Muller is the President of End Citizens United. She has helped grow the group into a nationwide organization with more than 4 million members and 1 million grassroots donors. Before leading End Citizens United, Tiffany was Deputy Political Director at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, where she worked with top Senate races. She also served as chief of staff to two members of Congress, ran a political research firm, and was Vice President of Political Operations at the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund. As a member of the Topeka City Council, she led successful efforts to expand anti-discrimination protections.
![]()
Anderson Clayton on N.C. Democratic Party's General Election Preparation — On Air Today (May 20, 2026)Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party Anderson Clayton joins 97.9 The Hill News Director Brighton McConnell on Wednesday, May 20.
Rep. Allen Buansi Shares Details on Bill for Millionaire Tax to Fund Public SchoolsThe District 56 representative joined 97.9 The Hill to discuss the bill he's co-sponsoring to explore new ways for funding public schools.
On the Porch: Graig Meyer - NC Justice CenterThis Week:
Graig Meyer is the Executive Director of the NC Justice Center where he will continue to "prioritize decisions and policies that make our state safer, healthier, more fair, and more prosperous". Meyer brings more than a decade of leadership in the North Carolina General Assembly, where he served in the House of Representatives beginning in 2013 and most recently in the State Senate representing Orange, Person, and Caswell Counties. Throughout his legislative career, Meyer championed strong public education, access to health care, economic opportunity for working families, and policies that strengthen communities across the state. Before entering public office, Graig spent sixteen years working in North Carolina’s public schools. A trained social worker and longtime public-school advocate, Graig has focused his public service on helping families connect to the resources and opportunities they need to thrive.
On the Porch: Lisa Sorg - Data CentersThis Week:
Lisa Sorg is the North Carolina reporter for Inside Climate News. A journalist for 30 years, Sorg covers energy, climate environment and agriculture, as well as the social justice impacts of pollution and corporate malfeasance.
She has won dozens of awards for her news, public service and investigative reporting. In 2022, she received the Stokes Award from the National Press Foundation for her two-part story about the environmental damage from a former missile plant on a Black and Latinx neighborhood in Burlington. Sorg was previously an environmental investigative reporter at NC Newsline, a nonprofit media outlet based in Raleigh. She has also worked at alt-weeklies, dailies and magazines. Originally from rural Indiana, she lives in Durham, N.C.
On the Porch: Holly Lux-Sullivan - Walking You HomeThis Week:
Holly Lux-Sullivan of Heartwood Death Doula & Bereavement Care is a trusted end-of-life guide, grief counselor, and board-certified chaplain with 18 years of experience supporting people through illness. She is a respected death doula whose passion is caring for those at life’s margins, particularly during severe and terminal illness, and normalizing conversations about mortality. An ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, she serves people facing the end of life across central North Carolina. HeartwoodDeathDoula.com
'Worried For Our Future': Authors React to Removal Attempt of LGBTQ+ Books from CHCCS Elementary LibrariesNorth Carolina legislators are pushing to remove 63 LGBTQ-themed books from CHCCS elementary schools, saying they violate state law for being available in libraries.
On the Porch: Deana Joy - Child Abuse in NCThis Week:
Deana Joy has spent her career working in the nonprofit sector with victims of crime. She began by working with victims of sexual violence then, in 2006, she was promoted to Executive Director of a local Children’s Advocacy and Sexual Assault Center. In 2014, Deana began working as the CEO of Children’s Advocacy Centers of North Carolina, the state chapter for Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs). In 2017, Deana became a national accreditation site reviewer for National Children’s Alliance, the accrediting body of Children’s Advocacy Centers. Deana currently serves as the Chair of the Children’s Justice Act for the Governor's Crime Commission and is on the NC Human Trafficking Commission, the NCDHHS Safety Design Team, the central region Citizen Review Panel, and the statewide Mass Violence Committee.
Morinaga Celebrates Completed Mebane Expansion and 'Sweet Partnership' With North Carolina, Orange CountyThe Japanese candy company Morinaga held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday to celebrate the opening of its expansion Hi-Chew plant in Mebane.
North Carolina’s Electoral Future May Hinge on Rural Black Voters Who Feel Ignored by DemocratsRoughly 4 in 10 Black voters in North Carolina’s last presidential election said they live in small towns or rural communities.
›
