--- title: John McCain: Exxon Is 'Crazy' For Wanting to Drill in Russia description: Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) suggested Exxon Mobil is 'crazy' after it was reported that the oil giant is looking to resume projects in Russia canonical: https://time.com/4747426/john-mccain-exxon-oil-russia/ author: Aric Jenkins article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-19T22:19:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T04:30:32.628Z article:section: Politics og:title: John McCain: Exxon Is 'Crazy' to Want to Drill for Oil in Russia og:description: The senator didn't mince words on Twitter og:url: https://time.com/4747426/john-mccain-exxon-oil-russia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc00e1bf19c94fe1f/6988a43bf887dc4961e973e0/john-mccain4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Senator John McCain Makes Speaks At An African American Roundtable og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: John McCain: Exxon Is 'Crazy' to Want to Drill for Oil in Russia twitter:description: The senator didn't mince words on Twitter twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc00e1bf19c94fe1f/6988a43bf887dc4961e973e0/john-mccain4.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # John McCain: Exxon Is 'Crazy' to Want to Drill for Oil in Russia > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=6e9b947e-f9b5-4a8b-8715-5bc9bbd3a8b9&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Apr 19, 2017 10:19 PM UTC  John McCain speaking during an African American veterans and business leaders roundtable event ahead of the U.S. Senate election in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., on Aug. 12, 2016. John McCain speaking during an African American veterans and business leaders roundtable event ahead of the U.S. Senate election in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., on Aug. 12, 2016. Patrick T. Fallon—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Apr 19, 2017 10:19 PM UTC Sen. [John McCain](http://time.com/4732660/john-mccain-donald-trump-syria/) (R-Ariz.) suggested Exxon Mobil is “crazy” in response to a report that the oil giant is seeking a waiver to resume projects in [Russia](http://time.com/4738126/tillerson-putin-meeting-us-russia-relations/). “Are they crazy?” McCain tweeted Wednesday with a link to the Wall Street _Journal_‘s [report](https://www.wsj.com/articles/exxon-seeks-u-s-waiver-to-work-in-russia-despite-sanctions-1492620677?mg=id-wsj). In March, McCain said the investigation into Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election needs to be handled by a “special committee,” criticizing Congress’ management of the case up to that point.”It’s a bizarre situation,” McCain [said](http://time.com/4710342/john-mccain-russian-investigation-special-committee/). “I think that this back and forth and what the American people have found so far is that no longer does Congress have the credibility to handle this alone.” > [](https://twitter.com/SenJohnMcCain/status/854789080625885186) Exxon recently applied to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for a waiver in order to continue its joint venture with Russian oil company PAO Rosneft, sources told the _Journal_. Exxon has been trying to gain access to the region around the Black Sea since 2015, according to the report. 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