PARKERSBURG, IOWA − Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, fielded angry questions on Medicaid cuts, PresidentDonald Trump's tax cut proposal and DOGE at a town hall on May 30, at one point telling a member of the crowd concernedabout Medicaid cutsthat, "We all are going to die." While portions of the hourlong event proceeded respectfully and Ernst, a Republican, answered several questions without interruption, at other points members of the roughly 100-member crowd repeatedly interrupted her answers, booing her and calling her a liar. As Ernst was answering a question about Medicaid eligibility in Trump's tax cut bill, she was interrupted by a woman in the crowd, who shouted, "People will die!" "People are not – well, we all are going to die," Ernst said, prompting shouting from the audience. "For heaven's sakes, folks." Ernst said the goal of the bill is to make sure that people who are not eligible for Medicaid benefits don't receive them. "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," Ernst said. "Those that meet the eligibility requirements for Medicaid, we will protect. We will protect them. Medicaid is extremely important here in the state of Iowa. If you don't want to listen, that's fine." Talking to reporters later in the day at aGoogle data center construction site, Ernst said the now-viral reaction to her comments is "hysteria that's out there coming from the left." "Two things are true: death and taxes," she said. "And what I'm trying to do is make sure that we are extending tax benefits for hardworking Iowans, and that we're preserving Medicaid for those that meet eligibility requirements. We don't need to see illegal immigrants receiving benefits that should be going to Iowans." Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for federally funded benefitssuch as Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program, and only some lawfully present immigrants qualify, subject to eligibility restrictions, according to KFF, a nonprofit organization focused on health policy. However, 14 states, mostly led by Democrats, use state funding to offer health care to low-income immigrants, either adults or children, regardless of their legal status. The tax billwould cut federal reimbursement ratesfor the Medicaid expansion programs in those states. Back at the morning's town hall, Karen Franczyk, a retired health care provider from Cedar Falls, also asked Ernst a question about potential cuts to Medicaid in Trump's tax cut bill. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill will reduce federal Medicaid spending by $723 billion over a decade and could increase the number of uninsured people by 7.6 million in that time. "President Trump's big, beautiful bill will cut billions from Medicaid, which is the main source of revenue for rural hospitals and community health centers that serve the most vulnerable Iowans," Franczyk said. "If you vote for this bill, what will you do to ensure that all Iowans can not only continue to receive care but have access to resources that make them healthier?" Ernst began her answer by telling Franczyk, "Thank you for being a health care provider. I really appreciate that." "We know the House has their provisions for Medicaid, and I actually agree with most of their provisions. Everyone says that Medicaid is being cut; people are going to see their benefits cut. That's not true," Ernst said, as members of the crowd began shouting "liar." Ernst is serving her second term in the U.S. Senate. She told reporters last yearthat she intended to run for reelectionin 2026 but has not yet launched a formal campaign. Randall Harlow of Cedar Falls asked about a one-sentence provision in the version of the tax bill that passed the House thatwould make it harder for federal judges to enforce contempt ordersin cases where the federal government defies court decisions. "My question for you today is, will you pledge to us, your constituents who you serve, that you will not vote for this bill or any other bill that contains this poisonous provision?" he said. Ernst said many of the provisions in the House bill would not make it into the Senate bill because the Senate has different rules than the House, which only allows provisions related to spending to be passed with a simple majority vote, not unrelated policy language. "I don't see any argument that could ever be made that this affects mandatory spending or revenues," she said. "I just don't see that. I don't see it getting into the Senate bill." Ernst said the nonpartisan Senate parliamentarian would make a decision about which provisions are eligible to be included in the bill. "I will support the parliamentarian," she said. When members of the crowd shouted at her to answer the question, Ernst said, "I did. It will not be in the Senate bill." "I could support the Senate bill, and I may not," she said. "I don't know what's in the Senate bill yet." Harrison Cass Jr., a former Navy officer and a retired superintendent who lives in Waterloo, thanked Ernst for coming to speak to the crowd in person. He prefaced his question by saying, "Clearly, we have a president who is destroying the federal government." He said Trump had "taken over the government" and "in four months he's made it into a dictatorship." "The worst thing is the Senate and the House of Representatives have been rendered useless," he said. "And you folks have let it happen. You've sat back and done nothing." "My question is this," Cass added. "Are you afraid of Trump? Are you corrupt like Trump? Or are you just at the point you don't care anymore, and that's why you don't do it?" Ernst began her answer by thanking Cass for his service. She said she didn't believe the federal government was being destroyed. Instead, she said the Department of Government Efficiency set up by Trump was identifying areas where the federal government had expanded for which she didn't think it should be responsible. "The things that were not spelled out in the Constitution were delegated under the 10thAmendment to the states," she said. "So, what we are seeing in federal government is the right-sizing of the federal government and allowing the states to take up the role that our forefathers intended." "It's chaos!" a woman in the crowd shouted. "It may be chaos to you," Ernst replied, "but we do have to get back to a semblance of what our country was founded for." Nathan Sage, a Democrat seeking his party's nomination for U.S. Senate in 2026, called Ernst's remarks "a new low," saying "she's not even trying to hide her contempt for us." "This is simple: these cuts will kill people," Sage said in a statement. "But Joni Ernst can't even pretend to care. She shrugged it off. It's disgusting and vile. Iowa deserves so much better. She needs to go." State Sen. Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, who isconsidering running for U.S. Senate in 2026, said in a statement, "It is, of course, true that we are all going to die, but our senators shouldn't be the ones killing us." "Joni Ernst has gone from 'Make 'em squeal' to We're all going to die,'" Wahls said in a statement. "Washington politicians are screwing Iowans and we need leaders who will fight for us, not gut health care funding that 700,000 Iowans rely on." Republican Party of Iowa Chair Jeff Kaufmann accused Democrats and the media of twisting Ernst's words. "Anyone who knows Joni – especially the folks who heard her answer tough questions for over an hour – knows Dems and the mainstream media are purposefully replacing her core message because it helps their fear-mongering," Kaufmann said in a statement. "But the fact is, without Senator Ernst taking a strong stand to protect the integrity of programs like Medicaid, Iowans would be worse off." Marissa Payne contributed to this report. Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email atsgrubermil@registermedia.comor by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at@sgrubermiller. This story was updated to add more information. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register:Joni Ernst fields angry questions on Medicaid cuts at Iowa town hall
