(The Center Square) – An Ohio state senator blasted Attorney General Dave Yost on Wednesday for Yost’s participation in a multi-state letter saying retail giant Costco’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices are illegal.
Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, condemned Yost’s participation in the letter that came after Costco shareholders overwhelmingly voted, 98%-2%, to have the company participate in the programs.
“What business does the government have in forcing a company to abandon its policies that have been shown to work and are widely popular?” DeMora said. “This is all just a ploy from the failed reporter turned MAGA extremist to get on the orange-haired menace’s good side as he runs for governor. He doesn’t actually care about the people that he is hurting with these decisions.”
Yost announced less than a week ago that he wants the Republican nomination for governor in 2026. Gov. Mike DeWine is term-limited and cannot run again.
As previously reported by The Center Square, a coalition of Republican attorneys general sent a letter to Costco saying it must “end all unlawful discrimination imposed by the company through diversity, equity, and inclusion (‘DEI’) policies.”
“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,” the letter said.
The conservative think tank National Center for Public Policy Research forced the Costco shareholder vote on a proposal to end the company’s practice.
“We owe our success to the more than 300,000 employees who serve our members everyday,” Costco Chairman Hamilton “Tony” James said. “It is important that they all feel included and appreciated and that they transmit these values to our customers.”
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach led the letter, which said the policies violate the law, and Yost signed on to it.