Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., on Wednesday said he’s “been called a racist” by his fellow House legislators over his support for the changes to Medicaid work requirements made in the wide ranging tax and spending bill that passed earlier this month.

Hern, in an interview with NewsNation during the Hill Nation Summit, said that his fellow members of the Ways and Means Committee have called him a racist because of the work requirements, which Republicans have defended as necessary to reduce Medicaid abuse and independent reviews have warned could cause millions of eligible people to lose their coverage.

“I think work matters in America. I’ve been criticized by that — I’ve been called a racist because I think you should work — by members of the Ways and Means Committee,” Hern said.

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