华盛顿 —— 战争部长皮特·赫格塞斯周三排除了接受参议员任命以避免一场艰苦的弹劾斗争的可能性 —— 与此同时，特朗普总统正在考虑是否让他成为周二惨烈的中期选举大败的替罪羊。
WASHINGTON — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Wednesday ruled out taking a Senate appointment to avoid a grueling impeachment fight — as President Trump considers whether to make him his whipping boy for the brutal midterm election wipeout.
赫格塞斯曾倡导并监督了导致共和党周二遭受惨重损失的那场冲突，他面临着今年可能出现的两党弹劾投票，知情人士认为，民主党在参议院取得的进展意味着他明年将面临一场公开审判，这将给政府带来灼烧般的打击。
Hegseth, who advocated for and oversaw the conflict that caused steep Republican losses on Tuesday, faces a possible bipartisan impeachment vote this year and insiders believe Democratic gains in the Senate mean he would face a public trial next year that would scorch the administration.
这位前福克斯新闻主持人最体面的退路，具有讽刺意味的是，获得当选田纳西州州长玛莎·布莱克本的支持，由她任命他填补她空出的参议员席位，从而进入参议院。
The former Fox News personality’s cleanest offramp, ironically, is joining the Senate by gaining Tennessee Gov.-elect Martha Blackburn’s support to appoint him to her vacated seat.
“尽管面临民主党发起的虚假猎巫行动的威胁，我们将继续在战争部推行[特朗普的]议程 —— 赫格塞斯部长百分之百致力于领导战争部，直到特朗普总统任期结束，”五角大楼发言人肖恩·帕内尔表示。
“We will continue to drive [Trump’s] agenda at the Department of War — despite threats of sham witch hunts from Democrats — and Secretary Hegseth is 100% committed to leading the Department until the end of President Trump’s term in office,” said Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.
多位消息人士告诉《邮报》，惨败之后，赫格塞斯将是一个显而易见的近期撤换人选，部分原因是当权力在1月交接时，特朗普将很难让继任者获得参议院确认。
Many sources told The Post that Hegseth would be an obvious near-term option for removal after the drubbing, in part because Trump will have a much more difficult time gaining Senate confirmation for a replacement when power changes hands in January.
“白宫高级幕僚中肯定有人在磨刀霍霍对付他，”一位接近白宫的消息人士说，并警告道，“我不知道他是否注定要走人。”另一位特朗普内部人士表示，总统正在四处征求意见，询问该如何处理赫格塞斯的问题。
“Knives are definitely out for him among senior West Wing staff,” a source close to the White House said, cautioning, “I don’t know if it’s a foregone conclusion that he’s gone.”A different Trump insider said the president is asking around for input on what to do about Hegseth.
这位五角大楼掌门人在保守派基本盘中很受欢迎，但他对这场战争负有不可推卸的重大责任，特朗普总统和副总统万斯都表示，由于能源价格飙升和通胀，这场战争是压倒性失利的主要原因之一。
The Pentagon chief is popular with the conservative base but indisputably bears significant responsibility for the war, which both Trump and Vice President JD Vance said was a top cause of the landslide loss because of a surge in energy prices and inflation.
第三位接近白宫的人士表示，“总得有人为这事负责。”“当你的头衔里带着‘战争’二字，你可能就会成为众矢之的，”他半开玩笑地说。
A third person close to the White House said “somebody has to own this.”“When the word ‘war’ is in your title then you might be the person in the crosshairs,” he quipped.
一位接近特朗普的第四位人士表示，如果他处在赫格塞斯的位置，他会恳求布莱克本给予参议员任命。
A fourth person close to Trump said that if he were in Hegseth’s shoes, he would be begging Blackburn for the Senate appointment.
特朗普对关于赫格塞斯命运的越来越多猜测不予置评，周三告诉记者，赫格塞斯“干得非常好”，他不打算解雇他，但补充说，如果赫格塞斯选择寻求参议员任命，“他会非常受欢迎”。
Trump dismissed mounting speculation about Hegseth’s fate, telling reporters Wednesday that Hegseth was “doing a very good job” and that he doesn’t plan to fire him, but that “he’d be very popular” if he chose to seek appointment to the Senate.
值得注意的是，特朗普在今年解雇前司法部长帕姆·邦迪和前国土安全部长克里斯蒂·诺姆之前，也曾用类似的语言赞扬过她们。更多关于2026年中期选举的报道：曾在特朗普两个任期内担任国家国防职务的约翰·乌利奥特表示：“赫格塞斯一直像一个拆迁队的人肉撞击球，冲撞着我们最古老、最引以为豪的机构之一，要撤销这种损害将需要数年时间。”
Trump, notably, used similar language while praising his former Attorney General Pam Bondi and former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem before firing them this year. More coverage of the 2026 midterm elections: John Ullyot, who served in national defense roles in both Trump terms, said, “Hegseth has been a human wrecking ball swinging through one of our oldest and proudest institutions, and it will take years to undo the damage.”
乌利奥特是新书《总统值得更好》的作者，他说：“他早已过期，是时候让他滚蛋了。”
“He’s well past his sell-by date, and it’s time to give him the heave-ho,” said Ullyot, author of the new book “The President Deserves Better.”
“任何一个有自尊的领导人，无论在军界还是商界，如果有他的这份履历，都会在被赶出门前自行离职。”这是有历史先例的。2006年11月8日，即因公众对伊拉克战争的不满导致共和党在中期选举中惨败的第二天，小布什总统宣布了国防部长拉姆斯菲尔德的辞职。
“Any self-respecting leader with his record, in the military or the corporate world, would leave on his own before being shown the door.”There’s historical precedent. President George W. Bush announced the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on November 8, 2006 — the day after heavy Republican losses in the midterm elections fueled by public dissatisfaction with the Iraq War.
共和党在参议院失去了七个席位——还有两个席位可能失守——并在众议院至少流失了29个席位，决定性地将国会控制权交给了民主党，预计民主党将阻挠特朗普的立法议程和提名，并发起调查，这可能导致总统面临第三次弹劾。
Republicans lost seven seats in the Senate — with two additional losses possible — and have hemorrhaged at least 29 seats in the House, decisively swinging control of Congress to the Democrats, who are expected to block Trump’s legislative agenda and nominations and launch investigations that could lead to the president’s third impeachment.
关注点转向赫格塞斯，此前选前有猜测称，前白宫副幕僚长詹姆斯·布莱尔（目前在亲特朗普的超级政治行动委员会“让美国再次伟大公司”工作）将为他主导的全国重新划分选区之战可能产生的反噬效应承担责任。
The focus on Hegseth followed pre-election speculation that former White House deputy chief of staff James Blair, who currently works at the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc., would take the fall for a possible backfire of the nationwide redistricting war he quarterbacked.
然而，一份分享给《华盛顿邮报》的国家共和党重划选区信托内部评估发现，这次重划选区的推动避免了一场更惨烈的共和党惨败。
An internal assessment from the National Republican Redistricting Trust shared with The Post, however, found the redistricting push prevented an even worse GOP bloodbath.
该备忘录称，新的众议院选区划分很可能使共和党在路易斯安那州和田纳西州各多保住了一个席位，在得克萨斯州多保住了一到四个席位——这被加利福尼亚州预计将多出一到两个民主党席位所抵消。
The new House district lines likely allowed Republicans to hold one more seat in both Louisiana and Tennessee than they otherwise would have and between one and four more in Texas, the memo said — offset by projections of one or two additional Democratic seats in California.