Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) was unfazed by her constituents’ concerns that people will die if Republicans allow cuts to Medicaid.
At a town hall in Butler County, Iowa on Friday, Ernst defended the House passed budget bill which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates could result in more than 10 million Americans losing health coverage.
As the senator defended the cuts to Medicaid, someone in the audience yelled out that people are “going to die.”
“Well, we all are going to die,” Ernst shot back.
Audience members gasped and booed the senator, but Ernst was unfazed.
“What you don’t want to do is listen to me when I say that we are going to focus on those that are most vulnerable,” she said. “Those that meet the eligibility requirements for Medicaid, we will protect. We will protect them.”
Earlier this month Republicans narrowly passed the so called ‘big beautiful bill’ which not only cuts Medicaid, but the CBO also revealed that the bill will increase the debt by $2.3 trillion over 10 years. That will trigger as much as $500 billion in Medicare cuts and cuts to food stamps starting as soon as 2026.
