The senator’s sarcasm-tinged response to controversy complicates Republican efforts to downplay their bill’s effects on Americans’ Medicaid coverage.

Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa told an audience “Well, we all are going to die,” in response to concerns that Medicaid cuts woud lead to more deaths

Iowa Democrat J.D. Scholten has announced that he is entering the 2026 race for Republican Senator Joni Ernst 's seat. The decision was "prompted in part" by controversial remarks Ernst made about possible Medicaid cuts, ABC News reported. Newsweek contacted Scholten and Ernst for comment on Tuesday via email outside regular office hours.