Gov. Rick Snyder (file photo)
Gov. Rick Snyder and Attorney General Bill Schuette, both Republicans, never have been close. And Schuette's investigation into the Flint water crisis has made them even less so.
It's an open secret that Snyder is furious with Schuette for how he is pursuing the criminal case against Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon, writes Nolan Finley, chief editorial writer at the Detroit News. Lyon is charged with manslaughter for failing to warn the public about an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease likely linked to Flint water.
Finley writes:
The governor feels he is being bushwhacked for the sake of Schuette’s political ambitions. Republicans will have to answer for Flint in next year’s campaigning, and it benefits Schuette to build a wall between himself and the governor.
Snyder will finish up his second and final term next year. Schuette wants his job.
Attorney General Bill Schuette (file photo)
Finley wonders if Snyder, who'd like to preserve some of his positive contributions of the state, will back Schuette if he's the Republican nominee.
Finley adds:
Will Gov. Rick Snyder’s desire to preserve what he’s built in Michigan be strong enough for him to endorse Bill Schuette should the attorney general win the Republican gubernatorial nomination?
That’s a choice the governor may face entering a 2018 campaign season in which Schuette is the solid front-runner on the GOP side.
