Hillary Clinton calls for Snyder to resign over Flint lead crisis

Liz Goodwin
·Senior National Affairs Reporter

For the first time, Hillary Clinton called for the resignation of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder during the Democratic debate Sunday night.

“The governor should resign or be recalled,” Clinton said, staking out a bolder claim on the issue.

Clinton has made the Flint lead crisis a centerpiece of her campaign, and has repeatedly criticized the Republican governor for his role in the disaster. Sen. Bernie Sanders has not emphasized Flint as much as his rival, but he’s been calling for Snyder’s resignation since January. Clinton had stopped short of calling for his resignation.

SLIDESHOW – Water crisis in Flint, Mich. >>>

Sanders made the call for Snyder’s resignation again at the debate, before Clinton was asked about Flint.

“One of the points that I have made is that I believe the governor of this state should understand that his dereliction of duty was irresponsible,” Sanders said. “He should resign.”

Clinton said “amen” to Sanders’ comments, and then added her own call for Snyder’s removal, accusing him of allowing Flint residents to be poisoned in order to save money. Before the debate, Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon told CNN that it wouldn’t make a difference in the day-to-day lives of Flint residents for Snyder to step down, and that Clinton was focused on helping them.

The governor responded to both Clinton and Sanders on Twitter. “This was never about money. This was a failure of government at all levels that could be described as a massive error of bureaucracy,” Snyder wrote.

(Cover tile photo: Jim Young/Reuters)