FRANKFORT — Democratic Gov. Andy Besehar warned Thursday that Kentucky’s economy would suffer in a trade war and said the state’s Republican U.S. senators also disagree with President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs.

“When you have the two Republican senators and the Democratic governor all saying something’s a bad idea, it’s because it’s a bad idea,” Beshear said during his weekly news conference.

Hours later Trump announced that he was suspending new tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada until April 2. The tariffs had taken effect Tuesday, and on Wednesday Trump exempted automakers from having to pay them for a month.

Beshear said he’s been having conversations with Canadian officials, urging them to spare Kentucky and focus any retaliatory measures “on places and areas where people aren’t speaking up.”

Canadian provinces already have responded to Trump’s actions by pulling U.S.-made liquor off store shelves — a move that Kentucky-based Brown-Forman called “worse than tariffs.”

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell said in a recent CBS interview that “tariffs drive the cost of everything up” and would “be paid for by American consumers.” U.S. Sen. Rand Paul said on X last month that Republicans “won the last election by complaining about Democrats’ policies, which gave us high prices. Tariff lovers will be forced to explain the persistence of high prices …”

Trump campaigned on a promise to enact tariffs as leverage to stop the flow of immigrants and fentanyl across the U.S. border.

Beshear expressed less concern about Republican state lawmakers’ efforts to replicate the efforts of billionaire and special government employee Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency in Kentucky.

The Senate passed a bill on Wednesday to launch KOGE, or the Kentucky Office of Government Efficiency, in the auditor of public accounts’ office.

Beshear called KOGE “a Kentucky version of DOGE, except it can’t do any of the things that the federal version does.” DOGE has been firing federal employees and freezing government payments.

Beshear was concerned about the bill’s addition of subpoena powers to the auditor’s office. “I’ve heard some comments coming out of that office that have seemed pretty political, and so my hope is that any changes that we make, especially that confers more power to any constitutional office, that we’re being careful in how we’re doing it and that it’s going to end up being used for the betterment of the people of Kentucky and not as a political tool.”

Beshear pointed to a conflict between his administration and Republican Auditor Allison Ball’s office that resulted in a court order over the ombudsman’s office. Last year, the legislature moved the ombudsman to Ball’s office from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

Around the same time as Beshear’s press conference, the House Committee on State Government passed a resolution from Rep. T.J. Roberts, R-Burlington, to establish the Kentucky Discipline of Government Efficiency, or KY DOGE.

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A group of Republican attorneys general — including Kentucky’s Russell Coleman — is pressuring Costco “to end all unlawful discrimination imposed” by the retailer’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

The 19 attorneys general sent a letter to Costco CEO Ron Vachris this week citing Republican President Donald Trump’s executive order that encouraged “all agencies to enforce our longstanding civil-rights laws and to combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities.”

Writing that Costco “should treat every person equally and based on their merit, rather than based on divisive and discriminatory DEI practices,” the attorneys general asked Vachris to either repeal Costco’s DEI policies or explain why the company is keeping them in place within 30 days.

Costco shareholders recently rejected a proposal from a conservative think tank to examine risks posed by its DEI policies. Nearly 98% of shareholders voted against the measure. Costco’s board had recommended rejection of the proposal.

At the Jan. 24 shareholders meeting, Costco board chair Tony E Curtis said the company’s commitment to inclusion “does not and has never included quotas or systematic preferences, nor does it mean compromising merit. The demands of our business and our steadfast commitment to serve our members mean that we cannot afford to do anything but hire and promote the most qualified individuals.”

Costco has not publicly responded to the letter. A spokesperson for the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Kentucky AG Coleman said in a statement, “Costco has a motto to ‘Do the right thing,’ but their DEI business practices are all wrong. By pushing a DEI agenda, Costco is out-of-step with the Kentuckians who just want affordable prices.”

Costco has four stores in Kentucky, according to its website.

Nationwide, some companies are rethinking their commitment to DEI, while others are standing by their diversity practices. Brands like Walmart and Meta have rolled back DEI policies while tech giants Microsoft and Apple reaffirmed their policies within the last week. Last year, Kentucky-based whiskey maker Brown-Forman suspended its DEI policies.

DEI policies are often aimed at removing bias and promoting fairness in areas like employment and education.

Former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron crusaded with other Republican attorneys general to curb DEI in the private sector, including issuing a letter to Fortune 100 CEOs calling on them to use “race-neutral principles in your employment and contracting practices” following the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of affirmative action in higher education.

After losing a race for Kentucky governor in 2023, Cameron became CEO of the 1792 Exchange, a group that aims to “steer public companies back to neutral on divisive, ideological issues.”

Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in an appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, recently defended private sector decisions to maintain DEI policies. If companies think encouraging a diverse workforce helps them, Beshear said, “the state that you’re working with should support you.”

Read the letter below

FINAL Costco Lettet (1)

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FRANKFORT — As news in Washington broke that Sen. Mitch McConnell, the longest serving floor leader of the U.S. Senate, planned to step down from that role this November, eyes in Kentucky turned to the senator’s legacy.

McConnell, also Kentucky’s longest-serving U.S. senator, is routinely credited by Republicans for building the current state party, which has won supermajorities in both legislative chambers and many local offices.

Earlier this year, he reminisced that when he defeated a Democratic incumbent in 1984 to represent Kentucky in the Senate, control of state government was firmly in the hands of Democrats. He was speaking in the Capitol Rotunda, celebrating the inaugurations of six Republicans who were elected statewide — to all of the constitutional offices except governor and lieutenant governor — last November.

McConnell’s announcement comes as former President Donald Trump solidifies his place as the GOP frontrunner in this year’s presidential election. Trump easily carried Kentucky twice and would be the favorite to do so again in November.

Last week, Trump said he was unsure if he would be able to work with McConnell in a second term. McConnell has blamed Trump for provoking the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 and has said that Trump is bad for the GOP, although McConnell voted to acquit Trump during his impeachment trial in February 2021.

McConnell has said he would support his party’s nominee but has not endorsed Trump, even as other prominent Republicans, including Senate Republican Whip John Thune of South Dakota, have. The New York Times recently reported that McConnell’s and Trump’s camps have been in talks about securing McConnell’s endorsement for the former president.

McConnell, speaking Wednesday on the Senate floor in Washington, D.C., told his colleagues that the “end of my contributions are closer than I’d prefer.” He recently turned 82. McConnell spoke of difficulties his family faced recently, such as the death of his wife’s youngest sister, Angela Chao.

McConnell plans to serve the remainder of his term which ends in January 2027. However, political observers have predicted he will not run for reelection in 2026.

“There are many challenges we must meet to deliver for the American people and each will have my full effort and attention,” he said. “I still have enough gas in the tank to thoroughly disappoint my critics and I intend to do so with all the enthusiasm which they have become accustomed.”

Last year, concerns about the senator’s health were raised after he suffered a concussion and two freeze-ups in front of reporters, including one in Northern Kentucky. Since then, McConnell has continued to speak publicly, both in Washington and at home in Kentucky.

Succession

Kentucky Republicans, including McConnell, have been preparing for a succession to his seat.

In Frankfort, Republican House Floor Leader Steven Rudy, of Paducah, filed House Bill 622 last week which would change the gubernatorial appointment process for U.S. Senate vacancies. If passed, the bill would allow winners of special elections to hold their Senate seat through the remainder of an unexpired term.

Before 2021, Kentucky’s governor had no restrictions on naming a replacement for a Senate vacancy. However, with McConnell’s support, Kentucky’s Republican-controlled General Assembly passed a law to require the governor to temporarily appoint someone of the same party as the departing senator.

Gov. Andy Beshear, a recently reelected Democrat, vetoed the 2021 legislation. His GOP opponent, McConnell protegé and former Attorney General Daniel Cameron, pushed Beshear on the campaign trail for not publicly committing to naming a Republican to fill a possible Senate vacancy.

“The reason we’re having this conversation is people speculating over his health, which I just don’t think is right,” Beshear told reporters after a Paducah debate in October. “I even told his (McConnell’s) state director that I wasn’t going to do this. I wasn’t going to go there because he says he’s healthy. He says he’s going to finish out his term, and I’m going to respect those wishes.”

Beshear thanked McConnell “for his years in leadership” in a Wednesday statement.

“There is no indication that he will not fulfill his promise to serve his entire term,” the governor said.

Later at an appearance in Shelby County, Beshear said McConnell deserves “widespread appreciation” for his long service. “For how long he has served in the position of leadership is pretty special, and we just want to say ‘thank you,'” the governor told reporters. Asked if he remains committed to serving out the full four-year second term he won in November, Beshear replied, “100 percent.”

Ahead of the annual Fancy Farm Picnic in August, McConnell addressed a room of party faithful at the Graves County GOP Breakfast — and vowed the West Kentucky political tradition wouldn’t be his last.

Kentucky reaction

Cameron, who is now an executive with the 1792 Exchange, thanked McConnell for his “servant’s heart and commitment to first principles” on X, formerly Twitter Wednesday.

“Leader McConnell has left an indelible impact on our Nation and our state,” Cameron said. “From the Supreme Court to defending America’s values, he has relentlessly pursued the US’s role as a shining city on a hill.”

Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams — a former McConnell scholar at the University of Louisville — congratulated the senator on X on his tenure leading U.S. Senate Republicans.

“Not only has he served our country in this role, he has elevated Kentucky,” Adams said. “Best wishes for his continued career in (the) Senate.”

Russell Coleman, Kentucky’s attorney general and former legal counsel for McConnell, said in a a statement that the senator is the “most consequential leader in Senate history” and that his family valued him for his kindness and mentorship.

“Leader McConnell has single handedly made sure Kentucky punches above our weight, and his legacy of accomplishment can be seen in every corner of the Bluegrass State,” Coleman said.

Republican Senate President Robert Stivers, of Manchester, applauded McConnell as “a tremendous leader in the U.S. Senate and in Kentucky” and said he aided in changing “the body politic in Frankfort, putting Kentucky on a much better trajectory.”

“He’s contributed significantly not only at the federal level, but also at the state level,” Stivers said. “Being a leader of a chamber myself, I have great respect and admiration for the job he’s done.”

Across the capitol, Republican House Speaker David Osborne, of Prospect, echoed Stivers’ comments about McConnell.

“Personally, I am sorry to see him leave a role he has served so well and leveraged to benefit so many. However, I wish him the absolute best in this next chapter,” Osborne said.

Don Fitzpatrick, the chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party, said the local GOP party was “surprised to hear of Leader McConnell’s decision ” in a statement.

“Though we are saddened by this news, we fully support his decision and have tremendous gratitude for all he has accomplished for our Nation, for the Commonwealth of Kentucky and for our local Republican Party,” Fitzpatrick said. “We are reassured that his vast experience will be of continued service to not only the US Senate but also to our Commonwealth.”

Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky’s second senator, offered a one-sentence comment: “I’d like to congratulate Senator McConnell on his long tenure.”

The relationship between the two has soured recently. Earlier this month, Paul criticized McConnell’s support for the standalone foreign aid bill.

Jack Brammer contributed to this report.

This story may be updated.Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com. Follow Kentucky Lantern on Facebook and Twitter.