Jeb Bush praises Michigan governor for post-Flint leadership

Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush on Sunday praised Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) for the way he has handled the fallout from the water contamination crisis in the city of Flint.

{mosads}“I admire Rick Snyder for stepping up right now. He’s going to the challenge, and he’s fired people and accepted responsibility to fix this,” Bush, a former governor of Florida, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Bush elaborated that he has been critical of Snyder for his negligence leading up to the crisis but applauded the governor for the way he has taken responsibility to fix the problem.

“No, what I’m saying though, instead of saying, ‘The dog ate my homework’ and, ‘It’s someone else’s fault,’ once it became clear he’s taken the lead now, and that’s exactly what I think leaders have to do,” he said.

In 2014, Flint changed its water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River in order to save money.

Complaints from residents began within a month of the switch, but the city did not change its water source back until October of 2015, when tests showed high levels of lead in tap water and in some children.

During his state of the state address last week, Snyder apologized for the incident and pledged to fix it.