Ohio’s Republican Attorney General Dave Yost is among the Republican AGs going after the warehouse club grocery store Costco for its diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
In a letter to Costco’s Chief Executive Officer Ron Vachris, Yost and 18 other Republican state attorneys general are demanding Costco get rid of their DEI policies.
The letter reads in part: "Although Costco’s motto is 'do the right thing,' it appears that the company is doing the wrong thing—clinging to DEI policies that courts and businesses have rejected as illegal. Costco should treat every person equally and based on their merit, rather than based on divisive and discriminatory DEI practices."
If they don't drop DEI programs within 30 days, the letter tells the retailer it must explain why it hasn’t.
Last week Costco’s shareholders voted to continue the company's DEI policies, in the face of Republican pressure to abandon them. In recent weeks, Target, WalMart, McDonalds, and some other big companies have nixed their DEI policies as political pressure to do so increased.
Sen. Bill DeMora (D-Columbus) is among the Democrats blasting back, saying Yost is just trying to impress President Trump to win his endorsement in the 2026 Republican primary for governor.
“How could a government force a private company that’s not violating the law to do something they don’t want to do? It’s ludicrous," DeMora said.
Yost’s office said he was unavailable to comment on the letter he signed with the other AGs.
Vachris has a statement on the company’s homepage: “We flourish from having employees with different views, experiences, and ideas."
DeMora is a Costco member, and said those offended by DEI policies should shop elsewhere.
“If Costco wants to keep these DEI principles, I for one applaud them and I’m going to keep going to Costco," DeMora said. "And I might do more spending there because none of these MAGA lovers want to shop there so it makes it easier for me."
