即使在周二的美国中期选举中尚未控制国会之前，民主党人就已经在筹划如果获胜将如何行使权力。
Even before taking control of Congress in the US midterm elections on Tuesday, Democrats were planning how they would use their power if they won it.
控制众议院和参议院赋予该党发出传票的权力——即传唤作证或提交文件——以及额外资金，以便在明年初启动调查。
Control of the House and Senate gives the party power to issue subpoenas - summons to testify or produce documents - as well as additional funding to launch investigations early next year.
民主党人一直在权衡是否调查特朗普政府的高级官员——甚至可能包括总统本人。据知情人士透露，工作人员已开始拟定可能的调查项目和证人名单。以下是几个潜在的调查目标。
Democrats have been weighing whether to investigate senior figures in the Trump administration - and possibly the president himself. Staffers have begun assembling a list of possible investigations and witnesses, according to people familiar with the discussions. Here are a few potential targets within their sights.
民主党人已明确表示，特朗普家族庞大商业帝国促成的利润丰厚的交易将成为任何初步调查的主要目标。
Democrats have made it clear that lucrative deals brokered by the Trump family's vast business empire will be primary targets of any initial investigations.
“我们要确保美国纳税人的钱被明智地使用，而不是因腐败而被窃取或私吞，”弗吉尼亚州民主党籍众议员、众议院监督委员会成员苏哈斯·苏布拉马尼扬对BBC表示。
"We want to make sure that [American] taxpayer dollars are being used wisely and not being stolen or pocketed because of corruption," Virginia Democratic Representative Suhas Subramanyam, a member of the House Oversight Committee, told the BBC.
考虑调查的项目包括政府与企业实体的关系——特别是加密货币公司——以及总统女婿贾里德·库什纳的国际业务往来。
Items under consideration for investigation include ties between the administration and corporate entities - particularly cryptocurrency firms - as well as the international business dealings of the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
其他议题可能包括卡塔尔赠送的价值4亿美元（约合3.01亿英镑）的飞机，该飞机将用作“空军一号”，以及授予与特朗普家族有关联公司的数百万美元国防合同。
Other topics could include the $400m (£301m) aircraft gifted by Qatar to serve as Air Force One and multimillion-dollar defence contracts awarded to firms linked to the Trump family.
“令我震惊的不仅是这个政府、内阁官员甚至总统及其家人贪腐且利益输送，而是他们如此厚颜无耻、公开地这样做，”苏布拉马尼扬说。白宫一再否认任何不当行为指控。
"What's shocking to me is not only that this administration, cabinet officials and even the president and his family have been corrupt and self-dealing, but they've been so brazen and open about it," Subramanyam said. The White House has repeatedly denied any allegations of wrongdoing.
“特朗普总统专注于保持共和党在国会的多数地位，并加倍努力推进他为降低家庭开支所取得的进展，”白宫发言人奥利维亚·韦尔斯说。
"President Trump is focused on retaining Republican majorities in Congress and doubling down on the progress he has made to lower costs for families," White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said.
“民主党人没有改善美国人民生活的议程，只有阻挠和无端针对特朗普总统常识性议程的计划，”她补充道。
"Democrats have no agenda to improve the lives of the American people, just plans to obstruct and baselessly target President Trump's commonsense agenda," she added.
一位白宫官员表示，无论谁在国会掌权，政府“始终做好准备”回应监督要求。
A White House official said the administration is "always prepared" to respond to oversight requests regardless of who is in Congress.
实时更新：所有最新进展 博文：特朗普在国内权力受限，但在国外情况可能不同 结果：地图和图表看美国如何投票 解析：特朗普惨败的五大原因 祖克尔：中期选举惨败削弱特朗普，但他目前仍掌握权力 反应：愤怒的共和党人指责特朗普导致中期选举“灾难” 民主党议员誓言将调查国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯对待始于2月的对伊朗战争的处理方式——包括平民伤亡人数、弹药短缺、开支以及部队和设施准备不足的指控。
LIVE UPDATES: All the latest developments BOWEN: Trump's loss limits powers at home, but it will likely be different abroad RESULTS: How America voted in maps and charts EXPLAINER: Five reasons why Trump did so badly ZURCHER: Midterm carnage weakens Trump but he still wields power for now REACTION: Angry Republicans blame Trump for midterms 'disaster' Democratic lawmakers have vowed to look into Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's handling of the war with Iran that began in February - including the number of civilian casualties, munitions shortfalls, spending and claims of poorly prepared troops and facilities.
据一位知情人士透露，其他议题可能包括加勒比海的船只撞击事件，政府称这些行动旨在阻止毒品流入美国。
Other topics, according to a source familiar with the discussions, could include boat strikes in the Caribbean that the administration says are aimed at stopping the flow of drugs into the US.
4月，一群众议院民主党人对赫格塞斯提出了罕见的弹劾条款。他们援引伊朗战争，指控他犯下“重罪和轻罪”。
In April, a group of House Democrats filed rare articles of impeachment against Hegseth. They cited the war in Iran and accused him of "high crimes and misdemeanours".
弹劾仅需众议院简单多数通过，但定罪并免职需要参议院三分之二多数投票。从未有内阁官员以此方式被免职。
Impeachment requires only a simple majority in the House, but conviction - and removal from office - would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate. No cabinet official has ever been removed this way.
一些专家认为，国会听证会带来的负面舆论最终可能导致赫格塞斯被解职或辞职。
Some experts believe that the negative publicity that would come from congressional hearings could ultimately lead to Hegseth being fired or resigning from the position.
“如果对白宫形象不利，且分散了他们的媒体关注，特朗普总统可能会解职那些官员，因为他不想要那些负面报道，”华盛顿特区美国大学政治学教授、总统研究专家大卫·米勒表示。“从某种意义上说，这可能是民主党的一次胜利。”曾在乔治·W·布什政府担任白宫首席伦理律师的理查德·佩特告诉英国广播公司（BBC），发动战争的决定应当接受审查。
"[If] it looks bad for the White House, and it's a drag on their media attention, President Trump might be likely to cut loose those officials, because he doesn't want that bad press," said David Miller, a political science professor and expert on the presidency at American University in Washington DC. "In a sense that could be a win for the Democrats." Richard Painter, the former chief White House ethics lawyer under George W Bush, told the BBC that the decision to launch the war should come under scrutiny.
“更大的问题是：这场战争从未获得美国国会授权，我不在乎国防部长是谁，”他说。
"The bigger issue is this: this war was never authorised by the United States Congress, and I don't care who the secretary of defence is," he said.
“宪法规定由国会宣战，”他说，议员们应当“把这些人传唤到场”接受质询。
"The constitution says that Congress declares war," he said, and lawmakers should "haul these folks in" to answer questions.
在一份声明中，五角大楼新闻秘书金斯利·威尔逊为赫格塞斯的履历辩护，称他是一位“变革型领导者”，已“削减官僚主义、释放创新活力，并为我们的战士兑现承诺”。
In a statement, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson defended Hegseth's record, calling him a "transformative leader" who has "slashed bureaucracy, unleashed innovation, and delivered for our warfighters".
“按每一个可衡量的指标，在赫格塞斯部长的领导下，战争部比以往更好，”她说，使用了政府偏好的国防部称呼。
"By every measurable metric, the Department of War is better under Secretary Hegseth's leadership than before," she said, using the administration's preferred name for the defence department.
资深民主党人——包括加利福尼亚州民主党众议员罗伯特·加西亚，若该党夺回众议院控制权，他将出任众议院监督委员会主席——已将移民执法确定为潜在国会调查的重中之重。
Senior Democrats - including Robert Garcia, the California Democrat tapped to lead the House Oversight Committee should the party take back the chamber - have identified immigration enforcement as a key priority for potential congressional investigations.
这些调查可能审查移民与海关执法局（ICE）特工在全美各地移民突击行动中涉嫌不当行为的指控。但这些调查可能证明既困难又棘手。
These could examine allegations of misconduct by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during immigration raids across the country. But these investigations may prove difficult and politically tricky.
2024年，特朗普以大规模驱逐无证移民为竞选承诺——这一信息引起了许多支持者的共鸣。
In 2024, Trump campaigned on a promise of mass deportations of undocumented migrants - a message that resonated with many of his supporters.
但近期民调显示，许多美国人，包括在那次大选中支持特朗普的人，对ICE今年以来在美城市采取的某些战术感到不安。
But recent polls suggest many Americans, including those who backed Trump in that election, are uncomfortable with some of the tactics used by ICE in American cities so far this year.
佩恩特告诉英国广播公司（BBC），这意味着民主党人将不得不在反对移民与海关执法局（ICE）战术与显得无视更广泛的移民担忧之间走钢丝。民主党人在是否尝试第三次弹劾特朗普的问题上存在分歧。
It means Democrats will have to walk a fine line between opposing ICE tactics and appearing to dismiss broader immigration concerns, Painter told the BBC. Democrats are split on the possibility of attempting to impeach Trump for a third time.
一些人，如众议员亚历山德拉·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯，已表示支持弹劾，理由是他们视为未经授权的对伊朗战争以及其他所谓的可弹劾罪行。
Some, such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have expressed support for an impeachment, citing what they view as an unauthorised war with Iran and other alleged impeachable offences.
另一些人则呼吁采取更谨慎的做法，理由是任何弹劾都不太可能以参议院投票将特朗普——他一再否认有任何不当行为——免职而告终。该党是否能就启动弹劾程序的理由达成一致也尚不清楚。
Others have called for a more cautious approach, arguing that any impeachment is unlikely to end in the Senate voting to remove Trump - who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing - from office. It is also unclear whether the party could agree on a reason to launch impeachment proceedings.
“如果我想，我可以做任何我想做的事，”特朗普10月在椭圆形办公室对记者说，并补充说，他将自己第一任期内的弹劾行动以及后来针对他的刑事案件视为“非常非法的事情”。
"I can do whatever I want, if I want," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office in October, adding that he sees the impeachment efforts in his first term and the later criminal cases brought against him as "very illegal things".
众议院监督委员会共和党主席詹姆斯·科默6月告诉《华盛顿太阳报》新闻媒体，民主党人是“只会一招的把戏”，他们“将继续追击特朗普”。
James Comer, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, told the Washington Sun news outlet in June that Democrats were "one-trick ponies" who were "going to go after Trump".
对民主党人来说，无法保证任何潜在调查都会以有意义的结果告终。但苏布拉马尼安表示，他们的努力将传递一个信息。
There is no guarantee for Democrats that any potential investigation would end with a meaningful outcome. But Subramanyam said their efforts would send a message.
“如果我们因为害怕舆论观感，或者认为不会成功，又或者他们设置障碍，而什么都不做，那将是糟糕的，”他说。“不仅对未来两年，而且对未来20年都是如此。”
"If we do not do something because we are scared of the optics, or we don't think it will be successful, or they stonewall us, that will be bad," he said. "Not just for the next two years, but for the next 20 years."
关注北美记者安东尼·祖彻的《美国政治不设限》通讯，跟踪特朗普第二任期的跌宕起伏。英国读者可在此注册，英国以外读者可
Follow the twists and turns of Trump's second term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher's US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here Those outside the UK can