--- title: John McCain Praises Jeff Flake After Announcing Retirement description: John McCain praised Jeff Flake, his fellow Republican from Arizona, after he announced that he would not seek re-election canonical: https://time.com/4995801/john-mccain-jeff-flake-arizona/ author: Aric Jenkins article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-24T20:53:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:58:33.361Z article:section: Politics og:title: John McCain Praises Sen. Jeff Flake After He Announces His Retirement og:description: McCain said Flake knew "there would be a political price to pay" og:url: https://time.com/4995801/john-mccain-jeff-flake-arizona/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb059080b99f7da07/6988e3448fd2ee021e35961a/gettyimages-495449741.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4928 og:image:height: 2772 og:image:alt: Vets Presser og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: John McCain Praises Sen. Jeff Flake After He Announces His Retirement twitter:description: McCain said Flake knew "there would be a political price to pay" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb059080b99f7da07/6988e3448fd2ee021e35961a/gettyimages-495449741.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # John McCain: Jeff Flake Stood Up For What He Believed In Knowing 'There Would Be a Political Price to Pay' > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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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=1dc28ab0-af2a-4cb0-9763-f7d88367561e&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: John McCain: Jeff Flake Stood Up For What He Believed In Knowing 'There Would Be a Political Price to Pay' [Watch (HLS stream): John McCain: Jeff Flake Stood Up For What He Believed In Knowing 'There Would Be a Political Price to Pay'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/BWIMFOHM.m3u8) (0:39)  _Published 2017-10-24. Sen. John McCain praised Jeff Flake, his fellow Republican Senator from Arizona, after he announced that he would not seek re-election in the coming midterms._ by [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Oct 24, 2017 8:53 PM UTC Sen. John McCain praised Jeff Flake, his fellow Republican Senator from Arizona, after he announced that he would not seek re-election in the coming midterms. by [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Oct 24, 2017 8:53 PM UTC Sen. [John McCain](http://time.com/4994036/john-mccain-donald-trump-frederica-wilson/) praised Jeff Flake, his fellow Republican Senator from Arizona, after he announced that he [would not seek re-election in the coming midterms.](http://time.com/4995650/arizona-jeff-flake-retire-donald-trump-republican-party/) “It’s been one of the great honors of my life to have the opportunity to serve with a man of integrity, and honor, and decency, and commitment to not only Arizona, but the United States of America,” McCain said of the 54-year-old senator on Tuesday. “I have seen Jeff Flake stand up for what he believes in, knowing full well there would be a political price to pay,” McCain added. > [](https://twitter.com/NBCPolitics/status/922908507904626689) Flake has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump despite their shared party. Recent polls conducted by both Republican and Democratic groups in Arizona show Flake is at risk of badly losing the state’s primary next August, [according to CNN. ](http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/24/politics/jeff-flake-retirement-arizona/index.html) “If I have been critical, it’s not because I relish criticizing the behavior of the President of the United States,” Flake said during his retirement speech on the Senate floor Tuesday. “If I have been critical, it is because I believe that it is my obligation to do so, as a matter of duty and conscience. “The notion that one should stay silent as the norms and values that keep America strong are undermined and as the alliances and agreements that ensure the stability of the entire world are routinely threatened by the level of thought that goes into 140 characters — the notion that one should say and do nothing in the face of such mercurial behavior is ahistoric and, I believe, profoundly misguided,” Flake added. Flake joins Tennessee Sen. [Bob Corker](http://time.com/4994797/bob-corker-donald-trump/), another outspoken Republican critic of Trump who won’t seek re-election in 2018. ## Transcript [00:00] It's very hard for me to add to [00:04] the eloquence of my friend and my dear friend from [00:08] Arizona. But I do want to say that it's [00:13] been one of the great honors of my life to have the [00:16] opportunity to serve With a man of integrity, [00:21] of honor and decency and commitment to [00:25] not only your Arizona but the United States of America. [00:29] I have seen Jeff Flake stand up for what he believes [00:34] in knowing full well that there would be a political price [00:38] to pay. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4995801/john-mccain-jeff-flake-arizona/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4995801/john-mccain-jeff-flake-arizona/"},"headline":"John McCain: Jeff Flake Stood Up For What He Believed In Knowing 'There Would Be a Political Price to Pay'","datePublished":"2017-10-24T20:53:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-08T09:58:33.361Z","description":"Arizona's other Republican senator is retiring, and it could have something to do with his beef with President Trump","url":"https://time.com/4995801/john-mccain-jeff-flake-arizona/","keywords":["Senate","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb059080b99f7da07/6988e3448fd2ee021e35961a/gettyimages-495449741.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aric Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb059080b99f7da07/6988e3448fd2ee021e35961a/gettyimages-495449741.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Vets Presser","caption":"Vets Presser","creditText":"Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call,Inc.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/senate/","name":"Senate"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4995801/john-mccain-jeff-flake-arizona/","name":"John McCain: Jeff Flake Stood Up For What He Believed In Knowing 'There Would Be a Political Price to Pay'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"John McCain: Jeff Flake Stood Up For What He Believed In Knowing 'There Would Be a Political Price to Pay'","description":"Sen. 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