11月3日，民主党在很大程度上是通过将政府腐败与不断上涨的生活成本挂钩，从而夺得了国会控制权。正如参议员乔恩·奥索夫（民主党-佐治亚州）所言：“腐败就是事情对美国人民不起作用的原因。”
On Nov. 3, Democrats took control of Congress in large part by tying government corruption to the rising cost of living. As Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) put it, “Corruption is why things don’t work for the American people.”
民主党现在应当兑现49名民主党国会候选人的要求，将全面反腐败立法作为国会的“首要任务”。在一个2027年版的“新政百日”里，国会民主党人应当为其解决可负担性问题的承诺付出首期款：提高联邦最低工资；恢复对儿童保育税收抵免、健康保险、医疗补助和补充营养援助计划（SNAP）的削减；以及取消关税。他们还应当调查特朗普政府的道德滥用行为，并推出一系列具体的反腐败改革。
Democrats should now deliver on the demand of 49 Democratic congressional candidates to make comprehensive anti-corruption legislation Congress’s “first order of business.”In a 2027 version of the New Deal’s 100 Days, Congressional Democrats should make a downpayment on their promise to address affordability by raising the federal minimum wage; restoring cuts to child care tax credits, health insurance, Medicaid and SNAP; and rolling back tariffs. They should also investigate the Trump administration’s ethical abuses and put forward a series of concrete anti-corruption reforms.
其中一些立法可能会在参议院夭折，或被一位宣称如果民主党在中期选举中获胜他将成为“否决先生”的总统阻挠。但一些法案很可能会通过。而每一次拒绝都可能成为民主党2028年竞选纲领中的又一块基石。89%的美国人认为腐败渗透在政府之中。
Some of this legislation may die in the Senate or be blocked by a president who proclaimed he would be “Mr. Veto” if Democrats prevailed in the midterms. But some bills are likely to pass. And every rejection can become another plank in Democrats’ 2028 platform. Eighty-nine percent of Americans believe corruption permeates the government.
政客们常以反腐败为平台进行竞选，却在当选后食言。即使是唐纳德·特朗普——他利用总统职位为自己、家人和朋友积累了数十亿美元——也在每次竞选总统时都承诺要“清理沼泽”。最近被问及选民的担忧时，他坚称民主党内部“存在大规模腐败”，但“我们是正直的，我们是可靠的”。民主党现在拥有一个千载难逢的机会来兑现其改革承诺，但前提是他们必须汲取过去的教训。
Politicians often campaign on an anti-corruption platform, only to break their promises. Even Donald Trump, who has used the presidency to amass billions for himself, his family and his friends, pledged in each of his presidential bids to “drain the swamp.”Asked recently about voters’ concerns, he insisted “there’s massive corruption” among Democrats, but “we are straight and we are solid.”Democrats now have a golden opportunity to make good on their commitment to reform, but only if they learn from the past.
2019年民主党重夺众议院控制权后，将《为人民法案》列为首要任务。该法案将道德改革与投票权、重划选区和竞选资金条款捆绑在一起。法案在众议院以党派路线表决通过，但遭参议院多数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔（共和党-肯塔基州）抨击为“党派权力攫取”，他拒绝将其提交参议院全院表决。共和党将攻击火力集中在法案的选举条款上，从而不必为反对新的道德规则辩护。2021年，该法案的修订版因阻挠议事而夭折。
After regaining control of the House in 2019, Democrats made the “For the People Act” a top priority. It combined ethics reform with provisions on voting rights, redistricting and campaign finance. The bill passed the House on a party-line vote but was attacked as a “partisan power grab” by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who refused to bring it to the Senate floor. By focusing their ire on the bill’s election provisions, Republicans did not have to justify opposing new ethics rules. A revised version died by filibuster in 2021.
通过推进一系列拆分的改革法案，民主党可以迫使共和党逐票为其反对理由辩护。
By advancing a series of unbundled reform bills, Democrats can force Republicans to justify their objections, one vote at a time.
他们应当首先从字面上“清理自家门户”。参议院已禁止其议员在预测市场下注。国会于1月3日复会时，新产生的民主党控制的众议院多数党应禁止议员及工作人员利用内幕信息进行此类下注。
They should start by cleaning up their own House, literally. The Senate has already barred its members from betting on prediction markets. When Congress returns on Jan. 3, the newly Democratic House majority should ban members and staff from using inside information to make such bets.
接下来，国会应禁止立法者、工作人员、行政部门高级官员及其直系亲属买卖个股。特朗普在2026年国情咨文中支持一个力度较弱的版本，该版本不适用于总统和副总统。民主党应迫使他签署一项全面法案，或解释为何动用否决权。
Next, Congress should bar legislators, staff, senior executive branch officials and members of their immediate families from trading individual stocks. Trump endorsed a weaker version of this that would not apply to the president or vice president in his 2026 State of the Union address. Democrats should force him to sign a comprehensive bill or explain a veto.
与大多数行政部门雇员不同，总统和副总统豁免于主要刑事财务利益冲突法规。民主党应要求他们剥离构成重大利益冲突的资产，或将其置于盲信托中。
Unlike most executive branch employees, the president and vice president are exempt from the principal criminal financial conflict-of-interest statute. Democrats should require them to divest assets that pose substantial conflicts or place them in blind trusts.
另一项法案应强制要求在大额捐赠者或其企业获得联邦合同或拨款时进行披露。此类立法将让公众有机会评估竞选捐款是否影响政府决策。
A separate bill should mandate disclosure when large donors or their businesses receive federal contracts or grants. Such legislation would give the public a chance to assess whether campaign contributions are influencing government decisions.
除非修宪，否则国会无法直接限制总统利用赦免权惠及政治盟友、捐款人和朋友的能力。但国会可以，也应当要求披露相关的财务关系以及司法部的赦免建议。国会还必须加强“裁判者”。
Absent a constitutional amendment, Congress cannot directly limit the president’s ability to use the pardon power to benefit political allies, donors and friends. But it can and should require disclosure of relevant financial relationships and Justice Department pardon recommendations. Congress must also strengthen the referees.
水门事件后的体制依赖监察长调查机构不当行为、政府道德办公室处理行政部门利益冲突，以及特别检察官办公室保护举报人并执行限制党派政治活动的规定。
The post-Watergate system relied on inspectors general to investigate agency misconduct, an Office of Government Ethics to handle executive branch conflicts of interest and an Office of Special Counsel to protect whistleblowers and enforce restrictions on partisan political activity.
自重返白宫以来，特朗普已系统性地拆除这些防线。作为回应，参议院少数党领袖查克·舒默提议成立一个新的反腐败局，赋予其广泛的调查和执法权，并吸收联邦选举委员会、政府道德办公室和特别检察官办公室。
Since returning to office, Trump has systematically dismantled these guardrails. In response, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer proposed a new Anti-Corruption Bureau with broad investigative and enforcement powers that would absorb the Federal Election Commission, Office of Government Ethics and Office of Special Counsel.
鉴于将选举监督与道德执法合并可能在行政上显得笨拙，并可能引发宪法挑战，我们建议为现有机构提供充足资金、更大的调查权力以及更强的防范政治动机干预的保护，以加强这些机构。
Since mixing election oversight with ethics enforcement might prove administratively cumbersome and invite constitutional challenges, we recommend strengthening existing institutions with ample funding, greater investigative authority and stronger protections against politically motivated interference.
我们认识到，清理华盛顿需要的不止一次选举，尤其是最高法院已赋予总统广泛权力来解雇机构负责人和道德执法者。而特朗普已多次表明其愿意规避法律约束。
We realize that cleaning up Washington will take more than one election, especially since the Supreme Court has given the president broad authority to fire agency heads and ethics enforcers. And Trump has demonstrated repeatedly his willingness to circumvent legal constraints.
水门事件后的改革建立了数十年来约束公职人员的保障措施。共和党人可能会对新的保障措施进行阻挠，或者特朗普可能会否决它们。但民主党人应当让他们逐案为这些选择辩护，并做好准备，让他们在2028年为自私自利付出代价。
The post-Watergate reforms established safeguards that constrained public officials for decades. Republicans may filibuster new safeguards or Trump may veto them. But Democrats should make them defend those choices, one bill at a time, and prepare to make them pay a price for self-dealing in 2028.
大卫·威普曼是汉密尔顿学院名誉校长。格伦·C·阿尔特斯勒是康奈尔大学美国研究托马斯和多萝西·利特温名誉教授。
David Wippman is emeritus president of Hamilton College. Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Emeritus Professor of American Studies at Cornell University.