在民主党本周在众议院和参议院取得历史性斩获之后，众议员哈基姆·杰弗里斯正式表明了态度。
After Democrats made historic gains in the House and Senate this week, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries made it official.
这位纽约人正式宣布竞选议长——他目前似乎正顺利迈向议长宝座。
The New Yorker formally announced he was running for speaker — and he appears to be on a glide-path to the gavel.
对杰弗里斯而言，出任议长将实现他筹划多年的梦想。他将成为第一位担任该职务的黑人，从而为其从布鲁克林一路晋升至民主党党团最高层的政治上升之路画上圆满句号。但掌管众议院多数派的前景将需要杰弗里斯进行微妙的平衡。
For Jeffries, the speakership would be the fulfillment of a dream years in the making. He would become the first Black person to hold the job, capping a political ascent that has carried him from Brooklyn to the top of the Democratic Caucus. But the prospect of presiding over the House majority will require Jeffries to perform a delicate balancing act.
这位56岁的官员将必须按照民主党选民的要求追究总统唐纳德·特朗普的责任，同时避免可能疏远摇摆选民的过激行为。他还必须寻找与特朗普合作并在生活成本高昂等问题上取得立法成果的途径，尽管他在2028年大选前将与总统和共和党人划清界限。
The 56-year-old will have to hold President Donald Trump accountable, as Democratic voters are demanding, while avoiding the kind of overreach that could alienate swing voters. He will also have to find ways to work with Trump and deliver legislative results on issues such as the high cost of living, even as he draws sharp contrasts with the president and Republicans ahead of the 2028 elections.
甚至他的处境也是一个悖论。他将领导30多年来最大规模的民主党众议院多数派，但在未来两年里，民主党在很大程度上仍将充当针对特朗普的反对党。
Even his position is a paradox. He would be leading the largest Democratic House majority in more than 30 years, but Democrats will largely be acting as an opposition party to Trump for the next two years.
这种平衡是杰弗里斯过去已经表现出能够做到的。他在2020年特朗普的参议院弹劾审判中担任弹劾经理人，但他同时也跨越党派进行合作，包括与第一任特朗普白宫合作，以帮助确保在2018年通过一项重大刑事司法改革法案等立法成果。
It’s a balance that Jeffries has demonstrated an ability to strike in the past. He served as an impeachment manager during Trump’s Senate trial in 2020, but he has also worked across the aisle, including with the first Trump White House, to help secure legislative achievements like a major criminal justice reform bill in 2018.
现在，在接受MS NOW的独家采访时，以热爱嘻哈音乐而闻名的杰弗里斯表示，美国政治中的这一刻让他想起了声名狼藉先生（Notorious B.I.G.）的歌曲《天空是极限》（Sky’s the Limit）。
Now, in an exclusive interview with MS NOW, Jeffries — known for his love of hip hop — said this moment in American politics makes him think of the Notorious B.I.G. song “ Sky’s the Limit .”
杰弗里斯说：“它反映了他摆脱负面影响、走向正面并在此过程中克服巨大逆境的历程。”
“It reflects his journey emerging from negativity to get to a point of positivity and overcoming great adversity along the way,” Jeffries said.
“这就是我们目前正在应对的情况，”他说道，并将这首歌比作他与众议院民主党人的行动指南。“我们必须展现出坚韧——以及执着——来度过这段动荡时期。”“如同你预料的那样迅速崛起”在另一场独家专访中——采访对象是杰弗里斯的弟弟哈桑·夸梅·杰弗里斯（Hasan Kwame Jeffries）——他让人得以一窥这位未来议长在成为华盛顿最具权势的民主党人之一很久以前的模样。早在年轻时，哈基姆就以自律和专注著称。
“That’s what we’re dealing with right now,” he said, likening the song to marching orders for him and House Democrats. “We’ve got to show the resilience — and the persistence — to fight through the turbulence.”“Blowing up like you thought I would”In another exclusive interview — this one with Jeffries’ younger brother — Hasan Kwame Jeffries offered a glimpse of the future speaker long before he became one of the most powerful Democrats in Washington. Even as a young man, Hakeem was known for his discipline and focus.
“他没有被那些无聊的事情分心，对吧？”哈桑说。“他的态度是，‘不，不，不，我得去学校，这是最安全的路。’”哈桑说，在纽约市长大也让兄弟俩接触到了截然不同的机遇。
“He wasn’t distracted by the foolishness, right?”Hasan said. “He was like, ‘No, no, no, I got to get to school, and this is the safest route.’”Growing up in New York City also exposed the brothers to sharp contrasts in opportunity, Hasan said.
“你看到了贫穷，也看到了财富，对吧？所以问题就在于：发生了什么，对吧？为什么会有这些？”哈桑说并补充道，“试图弄清楚这一点——然后思考，‘你如何解决它？’——非常符合我们的生活经历。”
“You’re seeing poverty and you’re seeing wealth, right? And so the question is like: what’s happening, right? Why do you have this?”Hasan said, adding that “trying to figure it out — and then thinking about, ‘How do you solve it?’ — was very much part of our lived experience.”
生于1970年的杰弗里斯在纽约迎来嘻哈音乐蓬勃发展的时代。哈基姆喜爱布鲁克林的本土艺术家，其中包括小胖子（Biggie Smalls）。哈桑回忆说，他们曾有一个“小型霹雳舞团”，并表示他的哥哥有“写满说唱歌词的笔记本”。在Instagram上查看此帖杰弗里斯还在体育中寻找精神寄托——尤其是他钟爱的洋基队和尼克斯队。兄弟俩曾参加少年棒球联盟比赛。他们将后院改造成了哈桑所描述的“多功能体育综合体”，他们的父亲用剩下的建筑废料搭建了一个篮球场。
Jeffries, who was born in 1970, came of age in New York as hip hop was exploding. Hakeem loved local Brooklyn artists, including Biggie Smalls. Hasan recalled them having a “little breakdance crew” and said his older brother had “notebooks with rap lyrics that he is penning.”View this post on Instagram Jeffries also found escape in sports — especially his beloved Yankees and Knicks. The brothers played little league baseball. They transformed their backyard into what Hasan described as a “multi-sports complex,” with their dad using leftover construction scraps to build a basketball hoop.
后院是一个发泄途径。宗教则是另一个。附近的基石浸信会教堂（Cornerstone Baptist Church）是杰弗里斯家庭生活的一大支柱。
The backyard was one outlet. Religion was another. The nearby Cornerstone Baptist Church was a pillar of family life in the Jeffries household.
基石浸信会教堂的主任牧师劳伦斯·阿克尔三世（Lawrence Aker III）向MS NOW表示，杰弗里斯正是在这座教堂里“学会了如何发表演讲”，“这就是他学会如何领导的地方，”阿克尔说。“他就在这个社区里领导其他青年事工。”
Cornerstone’s senior pastor Lawrence Aker III told MS NOW that the church was where Jeffries “learned how to give speeches,”“This is where he learned how to lead,” Aker said. “He led other youth ministries right here in this community.”
2024年1月25日，杰弗里斯（左）在纽约市的基石浸信会教堂与劳伦斯·E·阿克尔三世牧师交谈。塞思·韦尼格/美联社照片他的父母——一位社工和一位药物滥用咨询师——对他们的两个儿子有一个主要期望：他们必须获得高等学位，然后利用所学去服务他人。杰弗里斯选择了法学院的道路，于1997年从纽约大学毕业。
Jeffries, left, speaks with Rev. Lawrence E. Aker, III, at Cornerstone Baptist Church on Jan. 25, 2024, in New York City. Seth Wenig / AP Photo His parents — a social worker and a substance abuse counselor — had one main expectation for their two sons: they had to get an advanced degree and then use what they learned to serve other people. Jeffries took the law school route, graduating from NYU in 1997.
他的弟弟——现为俄亥俄州立大学的历史学教授——对MS NOW表示，两人直到高中毕业都共用一间卧室。而且他们经常辩论到深夜。
His younger brother — now a professor of history at The Ohio State University — told MS NOW the two shared a bedroom through high school. And they often debated each other well into the night.
“他很享受一场精彩的智力交锋，对吧？”哈桑谈到他的哥哥时说。“在我们成长过程中，谈的是体育。但一旦我们到了高中左右，情况就开始转变，我们开始更多地思考世界。我们在谈论马尔科姆·X，我们在谈论马丁·路德·金博士。”哈桑说，政治开始融入他们的对话。
“He enjoys a good intellectual joust, right?”Hasan said of his brother. “As we’re growing up, it’s sports. But once we got to sort of high school, it begins to shift, and we’re thinking more about the world. We’re talking about Malcolm X, we’re talking about Dr. King.”Hasan says politics began to infuse the conversation.
“我们当时真的在讨论，嗯，律师才是真正的改变者——我说，你在说什么呢？关键在于基层民众，”他说。“现在我们口渴时就喝香槟”2012年6月26日，时任州议员的杰弗里斯在纽约市与他的儿子杰里米和约书亚一起在初选期间投票。贝贝托·马修斯/美联社照片杰弗里斯在短暂从事公司法工作后首次涉足政坛。他在两次竞选纽约州议会失利后，第三次尝试才赢得选举。
“We’re really talking about well, lawyers are the real difference makers – I’m like, what are you talking about? It’s grassroots people,” he said. “Now we sip Champagne when we thirsty”Jeffries, then a state assemblyperson, votes during the primary election alongside his sons Jeremiah and Joshua on June 26, 2012, in New York City. Bebeto Matthews / AP Photo Jeffries first entered politics after a brief stint in corporate law. He lost two bids for the New York State Assembly before winning on his third try.
六年后的2012年，他当选为国会议员，并在具有影响力的众议院司法委员会获得了一个席位。
Six years later in 2012, he was elected to Congress and landed a spot on the influential House Judiciary Committee.
该小组为杰弗里斯未来备受瞩目的努力奠定了基础，其中包括与第一届特朗普白宫合作通过了大约十年来的首次重大刑事司法改革——这一两党合作的成果后来与他作为弹劾经理的角色形成了对照。
The panel helped lay the groundwork for Jeffries’ future high profile efforts, including working with the first Trump White House to pass the first major criminal justice reforms in roughly a decade — a bipartisan accomplishment that would later stand in contrast to his role as an impeachment manager.
杰弗里斯现在可能不得不再次平衡这种双重性，因为民主党人承诺在立法上努力降低成本，同时追究特朗普第二届政府的责任。在接受MS NOW采访时坚称，这两个目标并非水火不容。
It’s a duality that Jeffries will now likely have to balance again as Democrats pledge to work legislatively to lower costs while at the same time holding the second Trump administration accountable. In his interview with MS NOW, Jeffries insisted the two goals are not mutually exclusive.
“我们始终会以对美国人民做正确的事为指引，”他说。“重要的是要明白腐败是有代价的，美国人民也深知这一点，这就是为什么他们希望确保我们真正拥有一个民有、民治、民享的国会。”
“We’ll always be guided by doing the right thing for the American people,” he said. “It’s important to understand there’s a cost to corruption, and the American people know it, which is why they want to make sure we actually have a Congress of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
与此同时，杰弗里斯在过去十五年里不断晋升，在众议院民主党核心小组的领导层中拾级而上。他最初担任民主党宣传机构的联席主席，随后在核心小组主席的竞选险胜——接替了在党内初选中落败的同乡纽约人乔·克劳利。
At the same time, Jeffries spent the past decade and a half climbing the leadership ranks of the House Democratic Caucus. He started as co-chair of the Democrats’ messaging arm, before narrowly winning a race for caucus chair — succeeding fellow New Yorker Joe Crowley, who lost a primary.
当长期担任众议院民主党领袖的南希·佩洛西——杰弗里斯曾将她比作活着的传奇——在2022年宣布卸任领导职务以给新一代让路时，杰弗里斯在无竞争对手的情况下当选接替她。“同样的号码，同样的街区”2023年1月3日，第118届国会开幕第一天，时任候任民主党领袖的杰弗里斯在国会大厦众议院议事厅内迎候时任卸任众议院议长南希·佩洛西。
When longtime House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi — whom Jeffries has likened to a living legend — announced she would step away from leadership in 2022 to make way for a new generation, Jeffries was elected to replace her unopposed . “Same number, same hood”Jeffries, then the incoming democratic leader, greets then-outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi inside the House Chamber at the Capitol on Jan. 3, 2023, the first day of the 118th Congress.
埃弗琳·霍克斯坦 / 路透社佩洛西执掌时采取自上而下的方法，而杰弗里斯的许多盟友——包括他的首任幕僚长塞德里克·格兰特——则表示他具有自下而上的风格。
Evelyn Hockstein / Reuters Whereas Pelosi led with a top-down approach, many of Jeffries’s allies — including his first chief of staff, Cedric Grant — say he has a bottom-up style .
“他在需要时敢于做出决定且杀伐果断，但他喜欢建立共识，”格兰特对MS NOW说。
“He’s not afraid to make decisions when he needs to and to be decisive, but he likes to build consensus,” Grant told MS NOW.
这些盟友表示，杰弗里斯担任众议院少数党领袖的四年为他将如何担任议长提供了线索。
Those allies say Jeffries’ four years as House Minority Leader offer clues of how he’d serve as Speaker.
在此期间，杰弗里斯通过一项被称为解除请愿书的立法手段，击败共和党领导层并强行就民主党优先事项——包括恢复已到期的医疗保健补贴的立法——进行投票，从而打破了纪录。
During that time, Jeffries broke records by outmaneuvering GOP leadership to force votes on Democratic priorities — including legislation to restore expired healthcare subsidies — through a legislative maneuver called a discharge petition.
众议员格雷戈uri·米克斯（民主党-纽约州）——他说自己给杰弗里斯起的外号叫“丝绸”，因为他从不惊慌——将这位领袖形容为一名“战术思想家”。
Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y. — who says his nickname for Jeffries would be “silk” because he doesn’t panic — described the leader as a “tactical thinker.”
米克斯说：“在哈基姆·杰弗里斯的领导下，我们在身处少数党时所能做到的事，比我以往身处少数党时整个时期的总和还要多。”当然，并非所有人都对杰弗里斯感到满意。
“We’ve been able to do more under Hakeem Jeffries’ leadership, in the minority, than my entire time when we were in the minority previously,” Meeks said. Of course, not everyone has been satisfied with Jeffries.
由于特朗普打破了各种常规，杰弗里斯因表现得过于胆小和谨慎而受到抨击。左翼的一些人批评了他对以色列的立场以及他与华尔街的关系。
He’s been knocked for being too timid and cautious as Trump has blown up norms. Some on the left have criticized his stance on Israel and his relationship with Wall Street.
众议员普拉米拉·贾亚帕尔（民主党-华盛顿州）对MS NOW表示：“全国各地有很多人希望确保他能理解我们基层民众的愤怒，这种愤怒甚至是对民主党和旧政治的愤怒。”杰弗里斯表示，他的政绩“不言自明”。他的兄弟则坚信这位民主党领袖能够应对这一时刻。
“There are a lot of people across the country who want to make sure he understands the anger of our base, even against the Democratic Party and old politics,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., told MS NOW. Jeffries said his track record “speaks for itself.”And his brother is confident the Democratic leader will meet the moment.
他说，他兄弟的决策方式植根于他对体育的热爱。“他打球很拼，”他说。“但他会遵守规则。”
He says his brother’s approach to decision making is rooted in his love of sports. “He plays hard,” he said. “But he’ll play within the rules.”
当被问及鉴于这个历史性时刻以及特朗普倾向于打破常规，他是否认为杰弗里斯会在必要时打破这些规则时，哈桑预测“不会有任何违法行为”。
Asked if he believes Jeffries would break those rules if necessary, given the historic moment — and Trump’s propensity for bending the norms — Hasan predicted “there’s not going to be any law breaking.”
哈桑说：“但将会出现一些对常规的重要挑战，随着常规的消解以及其他常规被忽视，我们必须建立一些新的模式和新的常规。”“如果你以前不知道，现在你知道了”2023年10月25日，杰弗里斯（左）在国会山将议槌交时任候任议长众议员迈克·约翰逊。亚历克斯·布兰登/美联社照片然而，在这个充满不确定性的时刻，有一件事是确定的。
“But there’s gonna be some important challenging of norms as norms dissipate and as other norms are ignored, we got to establish some new patterns and some new norms,” Hasan said. “If you don’t know, now you know”Jeffries, left, hands the gavel to then-speaker-elect Rep. Mike Johnson at the Capitol on Oct. 25, 2023. Alex Brandon / AP Photo In this moment of uncertainty, one thing is certain, though.
如果当选议长，杰弗里斯将打破历史纪录，成为美国历史上第一位手握议槌的黑人。哈桑称这几乎是“不可思议的”。
If elected Speaker, Jeffries will be breaking a historic barrier, becoming the first Black person to hold the gavel in the nation’s history. Hasan calls it nearly “inconceivable.”
他说：“一个来自布鲁克林的孩童，社工的孩子，睡在我上铺的男孩，现在成了众议院议长？这就是进步。”
“You got a kid from Brooklyn, the child of social workers, who slept in the bunk bed above me, who is now Speaker of the House?” he said. “That’s progress.”
多年来，杰弗里斯本人一直回避关于那段历史严重性的提问，坚称自己专注于工作。
For years, Jeffries himself has sidestepped questions about the gravity of that history, insisting he is focused on the work.
但在最近接受MS NOW采访时，自称将已故民权领袖约翰·刘易斯视为对个人影响最大的人之一的杰弗里斯，确实在一定程度上透露了他的想法。
But in his recent interview with MS NOW, Jeffries — who says he counts the late civil rights icon John Lewis among his greatest personal influences — did pull back on the curtain on his thinking some.
“无论未来如何，对我个人而言，这是这个国家现实的一部分，我们确实是一个代议制民主国家——一个有瑕疵的国家，一个并不总是完美的国家，”他告诉MS NOW。
“Whatever the future holds, for me as an individual, it’s part of the reality in this country that we truly are a representative democracy — a flawed one, one that’s not always perfect,” he told MS NOW.
“但对我来说，能够参与我们不断迈向更完美联邦的征程是一种荣誉，”他说。
“But it’s an honor for me to be part of our continued march toward a more perfect union,” he said.