Overview

• At a late-May town hall in Parkersburg, Ernst brushed off warnings that GOP Medicaid cuts could cost lives by declaring, “Well, we all are going to die.”
• On June 2, she posted a cemetery-filmed non-apology video in which she repeated her mortality quip and quipped about the “tooth fairy.”
• In a Monday CBS News interview, Ernst defended her remarks as evidence of being “very compassionate” and urged viewers to watch the full exchange.
• The One Big Beautiful Bill Act would slash $1 trillion from health and food programs, with CBO projections showing 8.7 million people losing Medicaid and 7.6 million more becoming uninsured.
• Iowa State Rep. J.D. Scholten cited Ernst’s dismissive response as disrespectful when he announced his 2026 Senate bid against the incumbent.