Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa defended himself Monday after he told City Hall attendees worried about Medicaid’s proposed changes “we’ll all die.”

"I'm very compassionate and you need to listen to the whole conversation," Ernst told CBS News on Monday.

Ernst's contemplation on the current state of mortality was held at a controversial town hall meeting on Friday, as attendees passed a Republican-backed domestic policy bill to recruit for senators last month. After President Trump mentioned the measure in this way, the legislation would be titled "A Large Bill" - Implement work requirements In some Medicaid recipients, among other changes.

As Ernst explains some changes to the legislation’s low-income health insurance plan, one seems to be yelling that people will die.

Ernst replied: "People aren't- well, we all die, so for heaven's sake."

Ernst continued that the legislation would “focus on the most vulnerable”, adding: “People who meet the eligibility requirements we will protect Medicaid.”

The senator later dug out and posted a sarcastic apology video on Instagram.

"I made the wrong assumption that everyone in the auditorium knew that yes, we all perished from the earth. So, I'm sorry," Ernst said in the video. "I'm really happy and I don't have to come up with the Tooth Fairy topic."

The City Hall comments have attracted criticism from some potential opponents of Ernst, who will be re-elected next year. Nathan Sage, who is running for the Democratic Senate nomination, said Ernst “has not even tried to despise her for us.” Democratic state Rep. JD Scholten announced on Monday that he was in the competition and said he did not intend to launch a campaign in an Instagram post but “can’t sit on the court” after Ernst City Hall.

The House bill will increase restrictions on Medicaid, including work, volunteer or school Require For non-poor adults without children. The bill would also add more frequent eligibility checks, cut funding for states that use the Medicaid system to cover undocumented immigration, freeze provider taxes and insurance that prohibits gender transition services.

The bill's proposed changes to Medicaid and supplemental nutrition assistance programs (more well-known food stamps) could save hundreds of billions of dollars, which would help pay for Mr. Trump's 2017 tax cuts and increased border security.

But the bill still needs to pass through the Senate before reaching Mr. Trump’s desk, where some Republicans are Promote some Medicaid cuts. In City Hall last week, Ernst said she agreed to part of the legislation passed by the House, but "the bill will be changing."