DES MOINES, IOWA (January 28, 2025) — Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has joined with nineteen states in calling on Costco to end all illegal and discriminatory “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (“DEI”) policies.
Last month, the Costco board of directors unanimously urged shareholders to vote against a proposal requiring Costco to report on the financial risks of its DEI policies. While defending its discriminatory DEI policies to customers, Costco also expressed an unwillingness to change. In fact, one of its board members called for companies to expand woke DEI.
Costco’s decision to double down on DEI discrimination flies in the face of Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard, where the US Supreme Court ruled to end race-based discrimination. This move also follows President Trump’s executive order calling on companies to end illegal DEI discrimination and restore merit-based opportunity.
“It’s time to ditch DEI,” said AG Bird. “While other companies right the ship and abandon their illegal, woke policies, Costco has doubled down. I’m putting Costco on notice to do the right thing and eliminate discriminatory DEI. No American should be denied an opportunity because they don’t fit the woke mold."
This letter follows numerous instances where state attorneys general warned, and successfully persuaded, major companies to renounce illegal DEI discrimination. These companies include Amazon, Ford, John Deere, McDonalds, Meta, and Walmart.
The States are now calling on Costco to follow the law and end its woke DEI policies. The letter demands that Costco respond within thirty days to notify the States that it has repealed its DEI policies or explain its failure to do so.
Iowa co-led the letter with Kansas. They were joined by Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
Read the full letter here.
Read the Fox News exclusive here.
