General Coleman Calls on Costco to Focus on Lowering Costs, Not Promoting DEI

Urging the company to treat every person equally

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Jan. 28, 2025) – Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman announced he is calling on Costco Wholesale to end all unlawful discrimination imposed by the company’s DEI policies.  Attorney General Coleman is part of a 19-state coalition urging the company to treat every person equally and based on their merit, rather than based on divisive and discriminatory DEI practices.

In a letter led by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, the coalition of attorneys general urged Costco to follow President Donald Trump’s recent executive order encouraging “the Private Sector to end illegal DEI discrimination and preferences.”

Companies including Amazon, Ford, John Deere, McDonald’s, Meta and Walmart have listened to customers and walked back the DEI policies. Costco’s leadership, meanwhile, has doubled down on their DEI practices.  Their position runs contrary to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions and raises concerns about Costco’s compliance with State and federal laws.

“Costco has a motto to ‘Do the right thing,’ but their DEI business practices are all wrong. By pushing a DEI agenda, Costco is out-of-step with the Kentuckians who just want affordable prices,” said Attorney General Coleman.

Kentucky joins the attorneys general of Iowa, Kansas, Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia in this letter to the Washington-state based Costco Wholesale Corporation. 

Read the letter.