Jan 27 (Reuters) - Nineteen Republican attorneys general

have called on Costco Wholesale ( COST ) 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 ( META ), Amazon.com ( AMZN )

, JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) and Boeing ( BA ) have modified

their initiatives, scrapped their DEI goals or ended

participation in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's

corporate equity index.