国会“跛脚鸭”会议周一开始，参议院共和党人就上周选举惨败后的未来展开辩论，而民主党则面临一项正在分裂该党的许可改革法案的首次投票。
Congress’ lame-duck session starts with a bang on Monday, as Senate Republicans debate their future after last week’s shellacking and Democrats face their first vote on a permitting reform bill that is cleaving them.
在第一个方面，威斯康星州共和党参议员罗恩·约翰逊预计周一将一封信递交给阿肯色州共和党参议员、参议院共和党会议主席汤姆·科顿，信中附有迫使召开特别会议所需的五个签名。这不会推迟多数党领袖约翰·桑恩的领导层选举，也不会阻止桑恩竞任少数党会议主席，但将迫使就党内领导层展开辩论，最终可能就推迟领导层选举进行投票。
On the first front, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., is expected to deliver Senate Republican Conference Chair Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a letter on Monday with the requisite five signatures needed to force a special conference meeting. That won’t delay Majority Leader John Thune’s leadership election, nor will it block Thune’s bid to helm the conference in the minority, but it will force a debate about party leadership — and there may eventually be a vote on whether to delay the leadership election.
与此同时，参议院今晚将对许可改革法案进行程序性投票，该法案尽管遭到一些环保团体反对，但看起来很可能推进。民主党人寻求对该法案进行更多修改，但该党许多人认为，现在是推进此前已在多个国会会期搁置的许可立法的合适时机。
Meanwhile, the Senate will take a procedural vote on the permitting reform bill this evening, and it’s looking likely to advance despite opposition from some environmental groups. Democrats are seeking more changes to the bill, but many in the party think it’s the right time to move permitting legislation that has now stalled for multiple Congresses.
两位气候强硬派参议员，新墨西哥州民主党参议员马丁·海因里希和罗德岛州民主党参议员谢尔顿·怀特豪斯，都在公开推动在“跛脚鸭”会议期间通过该法案，民主党人通常信任其首席议员能达成一项好协议。如果该法案推进，在参议院通过可能需要几周时间。
Two climate hawks, Sens. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., are both publicly pushing to pass the bill in the lame duck, and Democrats often trust their ranking members to cut a good deal. The bill will take probably a couple weeks to pass in the Senate if it advances.
除非出现延迟，参议院共和党领导层选举定于周二上午9点举行；2022年，共和党人挫败了类似的延迟策略。
Barring a delay, Senate Republican leadership elections are scheduled to take place at 9 am on Tuesday; in 2022, Republicans squashed a similar delay tactic.
这一次，一些共和党人，如犹他州参议员迈克·李，表示在决定领导层投票之前，他们需要一份关于“跛脚鸭”会议将如何进行的计划。佛罗里达州共和党参议员里克·斯科特曾两次竞选领袖，他希望获得通过共和党选民身份证法案的承诺。即使是宾夕法尼亚州摇摆州参议员大卫·麦考密克也赞成暂停，以消化和辩论发生了什么。
This time around, some Republicans, like Utah Sen. Mike Lee, say they need a plan on how the lame duck will play out before deciding on their leadership votes. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who has run twice for leader, wants a commitment to pass the GOP’s voter ID legislation. Even swing-state Sen. David McCormick, R-Pa., endorsed a pause to digest and debate what happened.
参议院少数党领袖查克·舒默（Chuck Schumer）的高光时刻将会到来，但还要再等几个星期：民主党领导层选举将于12月上旬举行。
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s day in the spotlight will come, but not for a few weeks: Democratic leadership elections will happen in early December.