Overview

• Ernst told a Parkersburg audience worried about Medicaid cuts that “we’re all going to die” during a June town hall on the federal reconciliation bill.
• She issued a sarcastic apology video set in a cemetery, doubled down on her quip and urged viewers to “embrace my lord and savior, Jesus Christ.”
• Democrats such as Rep. Jasmine Crockett and Never Trump conservatives including David French have condemned her response as callous and un-compassionate.
• A Congressional Budget Office report warns that up to 16 million Americans could lose health coverage under the proposed cuts to Medicaid and other benefits she defended.
• Iowa Democratic Rep. J.D. Scholten launched a 2026 Senate bid against Ernst, calling her remarks emblematic of a need for more empathetic leadership.