Watch: GOP Representatives Call for Lawsuit Against Federal Government

Columbia, S.C. (WOLO) — Thursday morning Representative Michael Pitts announced that he and 55 fellow GOP Representatives were calling on Governor Nikki Haley and Attorney General Alan Wilson to pursue legal action against the federal government.

Eleven states that have filed suit against the Obama Administration’s directive to allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their gender identity.

Representative Pitts says South Carolina should be the next name on that list, in order to prevent a much larger problem.

According to Pitts, “The Constitution gives us certain rights within the state borders and President Obama through executive order had continued to erode that. So the call from this particular lawsuit is to try and stop that trend.”

In a statement the Attorney General’s office says they’ve been working with a number of other states regarding this federal overreach but that it’s inappropriate to discuss legal strategy at this time.

The transgender bathroom bill caused controversy in the Senate but lawmakers say it didn’t prevent progress during this legislative session.

Senator John Courson tells ABC Columbia, “We passed major legislation. Road infrastructure funding additional funding for education and we did it without a general tax increase.”

Despite these strides lawmakers in both bodies and on both sides of the aisle agree, there’s still work to be done.

Richland County Representative James Smith says, “We still need help for roads.”

Pitts explains, “I would like to have seen us address some of the ethics issues that have arisen”

“We need to be able to come together as a body, blemish out those lines of political mustering and just get down to addressing the issues of our citizens,” says Richland County Representative Joe McEachern.

Thursday was the final day of the 121st legislative session. Lawmakers will be looking to address these issues upon returning to the state house in the middle of June.