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Ernst Draws Ire For Medicaid Comment At Town Hall

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, highlighted the moment in history for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett in her opening statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Patrick Semansky
/
AP

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst is facing backlash after saying “we all are going to die” while talking about potential changes to Medicaid eligibility at a town hall in north-central Iowa. Despite shouts and groans from the crowd at a high school in Parkersburg, Iowa, Ernst stayed on message as she defended the tax and immigration package making its way through Congress. But as she emphasized the reasons for the $700 billion in reduced Medicaid spending, someone in the crowd yelled that people are going to die without coverage. Ernst said: “People are not ... well, we all are going to die,” prompting groans from the audience.