Story highlights A special session led to two bills that curtailed the Gov.-elect Roy Cooper's powers

Gov.-elect Roy Cooper vows take challenge the legislation in court

(CNN) In 2014, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a series of laws to create a series of new state agencies. Republican Gov. Pat McCrory deemed the move to be a power grab launched by his own party. So he did the only thing he could think of to protect his office: Sue the legislature.

"I have too much respect for North Carolina's constitution to allow the growing encroachment of the legislative branch into the responsibilities the people of North Carolina have vested in the executive branch," he said at the time.

Two years later, after he narrowly lost his re-election bid, McCrory's tune entirely changed. This month the Republican-controlled statehouse passed two pieces of legislation that stripped duties from the governor so that the power of his successor, Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper, would be curtailed.

Skirting the criticism, McCrory said in a statement Monday the laws were "hardly extreme changes" intended to fix a "broken election process" and "enhance" education policies. But the laws shift power toward Republicans, either by increasing their influence on boards, or taking away key appointments from the Democratic governor-elect. Progressive Democrats have blasted the legislation as a "power grab" that is unconstitutional. Legal challenges are likely to follow.

"Once more, the courts will have to clean up the mess the legislature made, but it won't stop us from moving North Carolina forward," Cooper said in a statement.

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