Politics

Tom Cotton Confronts Kroger CEO Over Employees Fired For Refusing To Wear LGBT Pride Symbols

[Screenshot/Public/Twitter — User: Townhall]

Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton confronted Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen on Nov. 29 after he suggested Republicans help save businesses while Democrats impose heavy regulations.

Cotton spoke during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the proposed merger between the Kroger and Albertsons grocery chains, and said companies shouldn’t inject themselves into cultural issues only to ask conservatives for help later on.

“I’ve cautioned [Big Tech companies] for years, that if they silence conservatives and center-right voters … if they discriminate against them in their company, they probably shouldn’t come and ask Republican senators to carry the water for them whenever our Democratic friends want to regulate them or block their mergers,” Cotton said during the hearing.

Kroger fired two former employees from an Arkansas location in 2019 after they refused to wear logos they believed represented the rainbow Pride Flag. While Kroger said the aprons with the rainbow-colored heart were not indicative of support for the LGBTQ community, and that the two employees were not fired for their religious belief, the mega-chain was ordered to pay $180,000 to settle the suit.

“I’ll say this: I’m sorry this is happening to you. Best of luck,” Cotton concluded his address to McMullen. (RELATED: Harris Teeter And Kroger Vow To Stop Selling Pro-America Can Koozies)

Kroger is set to purchase Albertsons in an approximate $24.6 billion deal, but the companies still need regulatory approval.