MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has joined 18 other Republican attorneys general in pressuring retail giant Costco to abandon its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. In a letter to Costco CEO Ron Vachris, the attorneys general accused the company of engaging in race- and gender-based hiring practices that could violate anti-discrimination laws, demanding an explanation or reversal of these policies within 30 days.
Marshall’s involvement in the effort reflects a growing trend among Republican officials who claim to champion small government yet increasingly insert themselves into private business decisions. The contradiction is stark: the same politicians who rail against government overreach and the so-called “woke agenda” are now attempting to dictate how a corporation hires, promotes, and trains employees.
The move follows former President Donald Trump’s recent executive order targeting corporate DEI programs and a broader conservative push against diversity initiatives in education, hiring, and investment. While some companies have retreated from DEI efforts in response to political and legal pressures, Costco has continued to emphasize diversity as a business strength.
Marshall framed the push as a matter of legal compliance and fairness. “Costco’s policies should reflect the principles of equal treatment, not discrimination under the guise of inclusion,” he said in a statement.
But critics argue that Marshall and his Republican colleagues are not interested in fairness—only in appealing to a political base increasingly hostile to any mention of diversity. The letter, they say, is less about legal principle and more about political theater, a heavy-handed effort to appease a faction of voters who see corporate DEI policies as a threat rather than a reflection of modern business realities.
Republicans spent decades telling Americans that businesses should be free from excessive regulation. Now they’re threatening legal action against a private company for choosing how it hires and trains employees.
That hypocrisy is not new. In recent years, Republican officials have attacked companies for everything from environmental policies to LGBTQ+ inclusion efforts. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis waged a high-profile legal battle against Disney over its opposition to a controversial state law limiting discussion of LGBTQ+ topics in schools. Texas officials have targeted financial firms over their ESG (environmental, social, and governance) investing policies. Now, Alabama’s top law enforcement officer has joined the latest front in the war against corporate autonomy.
While Marshall’s office insists the effort is about upholding the law, the broader political motivations are difficult to ignore. The Republican Party’s shift from free-market champions to cultural enforcers reveals an ideological inconsistency: the party that once opposed government interference in business now sees fit to police corporate HR departments. And in their zeal to dismantle DEI, they risk proving their own arguments against big government to be nothing more than hollow rhetoric.
As of now, Costco has not publicly responded to the letter. But whether the retailer stands its ground or bends to political pressure, one thing is clear—Alabama’s attorney general, like many of his Republican counterparts, is less interested in protecting business freedoms than in dictating corporate policy to serve a political agenda.