Republican state attorneys pressure Costco to drop diversity policies

(Reuters) - Nineteen Republican attorneys general have called on Costco Wholesale to abandon its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, citing concerns about discrimination and legal risks.

This comes after 98% of the U.S. retailer's shareholders last week voted against a proposal requesting a report on the risks tied to its diversity and inclusion initiatives, pushing back against the growing scrutiny such policies face.

Costco did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.

State officials in a letter to Costco's top boss Ron Vachris accused his company of doubling down on policies they allege violate merit-based principles and federal law.

The 19 Republican officials, co-led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird have demanded Costco notify the states within 30 days whether it will repeal its DEI policies or provide an explanation for maintaining them.

The pressure from the Republicans comes after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing government agency chiefs to dismantle DEI policies at federal agencies, federal contractors and in the private sector.

Companies such as Meta Platforms, Amazon.com, JPMorgan Chase and Boeing have modified their initiatives, scrapped their DEI goals or ended participation in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's corporate equity index.

(Reporting by Bipasha Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Saad Sayeed)

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