Costco is nominating former US commerce secretary and Rhode Island governor Gina Raimondo to serve on its board of directors, the Washington state-based retail giant announced last week.
“We are very pleased to nominate Secretary Raimondo for election to our Board,” Costco chairman Hamilton James said in a statement. “Her vast experience in global business, politics and international security at the highest level will add an important dimension to our current expertise. We look forward to her contributions.”
Raimondo served as Rhode Island governor from 2015 to 2021, when she was tapped to serve as the Biden administration’s secretary of commerce. Before entering politics in 2010, she worked in venture capital.
Her nomination will likely be voted on at the company’s next shareholders’ meeting, scheduled for Jan. 15.
The nomination comes days after the warehouse store announced it would sue the Trump administration over its tariff policy. Costco says the administration’s tariffs are unlawful, since they were imposed under a law that has historically been used to impose sanctions against other nations.
Earlier this year, Raimondo said she is considering running for president in 2028, becoming one of the first Democrats to do so. She also criticized the direction of the party and suggested it had ignored bread-and-butter economics issues in 2024 election loss to Donald Trump.
She added, though, that “if I thought somebody else would be better, or better able to win, I’d get behind that person in a minute.”
Costco does not currently operate any stores in Rhode Island. The nearest location is located on Interstate 95 in Sharon, Mass., according to the company’s website.
Last year, the company seemed to back away from a plan to build a warehouse at a shuttered correctional facility in Cranston, WPRI reported. Officials in Warwick and Smithfield have also expressed interest in bringing the box store to their communities.
Material from previous Globe coverage and Globe wire services was used.
Camilo Fonseca can be reached at camilo.fonseca@globe.com. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports.
