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Red-State Attorneys General Are Waging Culture Wars With Public Money and Subpoena Power

From suing companies over DEI to threatening hospitals over trans care to building immigration detention in the Everglades, a handful of state AGs are turning their offices into political weapons.

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The Playbook

State attorneys general have always had broad authority to enforce consumer protection and antitrust law. A group of Republican AGs is using that authority for something different: punishing companies, universities, and nonprofits for political positions those AGs disagree with.

The pattern is the same in state after state. Use subpoena power or coalition lawsuits to investigate organizations over DEI programs, ESG investing, or reproductive health. The goal is not always to win in court. It is to make the cost of holding certain positions too high.

Texas: Paxton Sets the Template

Texas AG Ken Paxton has been the most aggressive. In January 2026, he issued a legal opinion declaring over 100 existing Texas laws related to diversity, equity, and inclusion unconstitutional. The opinion warns private companies that maintaining DEI programs exposes them to legal liability under state and federal law.

Paxton led a multistate coalition that sent letters to 20 law firms in April 2025 demanding information about their DEI hiring practices. In April 2026, he opened an investigation into the University of North Texas for allegedly continuing to teach DEI concepts.

He also led a coalition of seven states filing briefs in the 11th Circuit to block federal oversight of state social service agencies.

Florida: Uthmeier Escalates

When Ashley Moody left to take Marco Rubio’s U.S. Senate seat in January 2025, Governor DeSantis appointed James Uthmeier as Florida’s 39th attorney general. Uthmeier, 37 at the time, has been aggressive from the start.

In June 2025, Uthmeier helped launch what he called “Alligator Alcatraz” — a state-run immigration detention facility built inside the Everglades on federal land. He was held in contempt of court by U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams for continuing to enforce a state immigration law the judge had already blocked.

In November 2025, Uthmeier sued proxy advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis, accusing them of pushing ESG and DEI agendas on corporate clients while claiming to offer neutral investment advice. In February 2026, he led a coalition of 10 AGs that sent warning letters to nearly 80 corporations involved in plastics sustainability groups, accusing them of anticompetitive behavior for coordinating environmental policies.

Missouri: Culture Wars as a Resume Builder

Former Missouri AG Andrew Bailey made culture war litigation central to his tenure before leaving in August 2025 for a job as co-deputy director of the FBI. His office sued Starbucks for alleged discrimination against white and male workers, sued IBM over DEI policies, and sued BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard over ESG investment practices.

Bailey’s office also filed four separate lawsuits related to medical records of transgender children and subpoenaed records from the Missouri Abortion Fund.

The Multistate Machine

In May 2026, Nebraska AG Michael Hilgers filed a lawsuit against Institutional Shareholder Services accusing the firm of smuggling climate and DEI goals into corporate governance advice. Iowa, Texas, and West Virginia filed companion suits the same day. At least 17 state AGs have joined the effort.

Earlier, Vanguard settled the flagship red-state antitrust case (Texas v. BlackRock) in February 2026, agreeing to pay $29.5 million, withdraw from all climate commitments, and stop using divestment as leverage on corporate environmental and social conduct.

The message to companies is clear: adopt policies these AGs dislike, and you will face coordinated legal action from more than a dozen states. This is one of the most aggressive red-state power grabs playing out right now.

What You Can Do

  1. Find out who your state attorney general is and what lawsuits they have joined. The Ballotpedia AG tracker lists active multistate coalitions.
  2. If your AG is part of these coalitions, call and ask what the lawsuits cost taxpayers. AG budgets are public. The question is whether voters want their consumer protection dollars spent suing companies over recycling pledges.
  3. Support press coverage. Local investigative reporting on AG offices is thin in most states. Share reporting from outlets like the Texas Tribune, Missouri Independent, and Florida Phoenix with people in those states.

Primary Sources