通常情况下，总统在中期选举失利后重组团队，旨在进行建设性或纠偿性的调整，以回应形势并有利于未来的施政。
As a rule, when presidents shake up their teams after a midterm election loss, the overhauls are designed to be constructive or corrective, responsive to the circumstances and conducive to future governance.
周五下午，唐纳德·特朗普却走向了相反的方向，提拔斯蒂芬·米勒出任最新一任白宫幕僚长。这一举措几乎不留余地地表明，这位总统计划采取更对抗、更激进的姿态，并更抗拒与即将由民主党主导的国会合作。
On Friday afternoon, Donald Trump went in the opposite direction, elevating Stephen Miller to serve as his latest White House chief of staff. The move left little doubt about the president’s plans to be more confrontational, more aggressive and more resistant to cooperation with the soon-to-be Democratic-led Congress.
预计将成为下一任众议长的众议院少数党领袖哈基姆·杰弗里斯用三句话概括了民主党对该任命的看法：“斯蒂芬·米勒是一个危险的排外主义者和鲁莽的极端分子，他的手上沾有美国人的鲜血。他在政府中的存在应像恶性肿瘤一样被根除。今天就把他开除。” 同样引人注目的，还有几位共和党人的反应。
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who’s likely to become the next House speaker, summarized the Democratic perspective on the announcement in three sentences: “Stephen Miller is a dangerous xenophobe and reckless extremist who has American blood on his hands. His presence in government should be eradicated like a malignant tumor. Fire him today.”Just as notable, however, were the reactions from several Republicans.
例如，当福克斯新闻询问一位众议院共和党议员对米勒晋升的看法时，该议员“仅以一个捂脸表情符号作为回复”。大致同一时间，当《政治报》询问一位共和党成员对总统人事调动的看法时，这位国会共和党议员回应道：“请告诉我你在骗我，只是为了博取反应。”
When Fox News, for example, asked one House Republican about Miller’s promotion, the lawmaker “replied simply with a facepalm emoji.”Around the same time, when Politico asked a GOP member about the president’s personnel move, the congressional Republican responded, “Please tell me you’re lying to me right now, just to get a reaction.”
这些反应虽显滑稽，但反映了党内严肃的情绪。来自印第安纳州的共和党众议员马林·斯塔茨曼甚至愿意在全国电视观众面前表达他的担忧。《华盛顿邮报》报道：众议员马林·斯塔茨曼表示，唐纳德·特朗普总统用米勒取代苏西·怀尔斯担任幕僚长是一个“糟糕的错误”，米勒一直是特朗普政府一些最具争议政策的代表性人物。
Those reactions were amusing, but they reflected a serious sentiment within the party. Republican Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana was even willing to share his concerns with a national television audience. The Washington Post reported: Rep. Marlin Stutzman said it was a “bad mistake” for President Donald Trump to replace Susie Wiles as chief of staff by elevating Miller, who has been the face of some of the Trump administration’s most controversial policies.
斯塔茨曼的言论是共和党成员对特朗普罕见的公开斥责，此前共和党在周二的中期选举中遭遇惨败。斯塔茨曼表示，提拔米勒传递了错误的信号，米勒作为白宫副幕僚长，主导了移民打压行动、加勒比海针对涉嫌贩毒船只的打击行动以及其他有争议的政策。
Stutzman’s comments were a rare rebuke of Trump from a member of his own party as Republicans reel from a sweeping defeat in Tuesday’s midterm elections. The promotion for Miller, who as White House deputy chief of staff orchestrated the immigration crackdown, strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and other controversial policies, sends the wrong signal, Stutzman said.
“他在中西部这边不受民众欢迎，”这位共和党议员指着米勒说。“他们不喜欢他的语气。他们认为他在移民问题上没有提供更好的解决方案。” 就在几天前，北卡罗来纳州共和党参议员汤姆·蒂利斯也在CNN节目中露面，称米勒的提拔是“巨大的错误”。这位即将卸任的参议员补充说，总统“需要重新考虑”这一决定。
“He’s not liked out here in the Midwest by people,” the GOP lawmaker said, referring to Miller. “They don’t like his tone. They believe he didn’t offer a better solution on immigration.”Those on-air comments a couple of days after Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina also appeared on CNN and called Miller’s promotion a “colossal mistake.”The retiring senator added that the president “needs to rethink” the decision.
这几乎肯定不会发生，尽管这种公开批评有助于捕捉特朗普错误的严重程度，并表明这位实力削弱的总统不再能吓唬共和党成员噤声。
That almost certainly won’t happen, although such public criticisms help capture both the scope of Trump’s mistake and indicate that the weakened president is no longer scaring GOP members into silence.