马里兰州参议员克里斯·范霍伦（Chris Van Hollen）的谈吐完全像是一个想要竞选参议院多数党领袖的人。
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen is definitely talking like someone who wants to run for Senate majority leader.
在“Groundwork Action”组织举办的“人民授权”活动上，范霍伦接受了MS NOW的阿里·维塔利（Ali Vitali）采访。他表示，目前正“在给同事们打电话”，商讨未来由谁来领导参议院民主党党团，并且正在“积极倾听”各方意见。
Speaking with MS NOW’s Ali Vitali at a “Popular Mandate” event hosted by Groundwork Action, Van Hollen said he is “in the process right now of calling my colleagues” about who should lead them going forward, and that he is “actively listening.”
“实话实说，这次选举也明显带有反华盛顿建制派的基调，”他说，“这就是为什么我现在正在积极倾听那些寻求这种变革的人的呼声，并且正在给同事们打电话，因为归根结底，问题在于党团是否听到了同样的变革呼声。所以，我正在积极给同事们打电话，因为最终这是民主党党团的一场投票。”范霍伦表示，他尚未与所有民主党同事通过话。参议院民主党领导层选举预计将于12月初举行，但具体日期尚未确定。
“Let's face it, there was also a clearly an anti-Washington establishment tone to this election,” he said, “and so that is why I am now actively listening to people who are looking for that kind of change, and I am in the process right now of calling my colleagues because ultimately the question is whether the caucus is hearing the same calls for change or not. So, I'm actively calling my colleagues, because at the end of the day, this is a vote in the Democratic caucus.”Van Hollen said that he has not yet spoken with all of his Democratic colleagues. Senate Democratic leadership elections are expected in early December, but no date has been set.
即使他在忙着打电话——这一过程看起来很像在拉票——范霍伦说，他一直在和参议员查克·舒默（Chuck Schumer）打“电话接力”（注：指双方多次拨打对方电话但均未接通）。这位纽约州民主党人自2017年以来一直领导参议院民主党党团，并表示“有信心”当选继续领导多数党。这种角力凸显了该党建制派与进步派之间日益扩大的分歧。
Even as he works the phone, a process that looks a lot like whipping votes, Van Hollen said he has been playing “phone tag” with Sen. Chuck Schumer. The New York Democrat has led the party in the Senate since 2017 and is “confident” he will be elected to continue leading the party in the majority. The maneuvering points to a growing divide between the party’s establishment and its progressive wing.
当范霍伦在欢呼声中暗示自己的政治前途时，参议员伯尼·桑德斯（无党籍-佛蒙特州）和埃莉萨·斯洛特金（民主党-密歇根州）正站在国会山的讲台上，呼应他对党内变革的呼吁。桑德斯直言不讳地表示，他不会支持舒默。斯洛特金说，谁想赢得她的选票，“必须向我展示一个明确不同的具体计划”。
As Van Hollen teased his political future to a roaring crowd, Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., were at a podium on Capitol Hill echoing his call for change within the party. Sanders said outright that he would not support Schumer. Slotkin said whoever earns her vote “is going to have to show me a concrete plan that’s definitively different.”
几分钟后，舒默在参议员克尔斯滕·吉利布兰德、谢尔登·怀特豪斯和鲁本·加列戈的陪同下对记者说：“我们党团内部团结一致，我将荣幸地继续担任多数党领袖。”
Minutes later, Schumer, flanked by Sens. Kristen Gillibrand, Sheldon Whitehouse and Ruben Gallego, told reporters, “We have great unity in our caucus, and I'll be proud to lead it as majority leader.”
这一来回交锋发生在民主党中期选举后的首次党团会议之后。范霍伦刚从包含新当选成员的党团午餐会直接赶到现场，形容会议室内的气氛是“兴奋，但也认识到责任的重大”。当维塔利询问民主党继续由舒默掌舵是否会是一个“错误”时，范霍伦停顿了一下。
The back-and-forth followed the Democrats’ first caucus meeting since the midterm elections. Van Hollen came to the event straight from a caucus lunch that included its newly elected members, describing the mood in the room as one of “exhilaration, but also a recognition of responsibility.”When Vitali asked whether it would be a “mistake” for Democrats to keep Schumer at the helm, Van Hollen paused.
“这个嘛，”他说，“这是党团的决定，这也是为什么，阿里，我正在进行这些讨论。”
“Well,” he said, “this is a decision for the caucus, and this is why, Ali, I’m having these discussions.”
欢呼声平息后，他补充道：“我清楚地听到了全国各地对变革的呼声。问题是，这些呼声是否被参议院民主党党团内部听到了。”部分摩擦早于领导层竞争。舒默和由吉利布兰德领导的民主党参议员竞选委员会（该党的竞选机构）在密歇根州等地背书或倾向于支持他们认定更具“当选可能性”的候选人。
After cheers died down, he added, “I'm clearly hearing the calls around the country for change. I think the question is whether those calls are being heard within the walls of the Senate Democratic caucus.”Some of the friction predates the leadership race. Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the party’s campaign arm led by Gillibrand, endorsed or showed preference for certain candidates they believed to be more “electable,” in places such as Michigan.
“我强烈认为，只有在极少数例外情况下，民主党参议员竞选委员会才应当介入，”范霍伦说，“让人民来决定。”“幸运的是，人民确实做出了决定，”他补充道。
“My strong view is, under only very, very rare exceptions should the DSCC be weighing in,” Van Hollen said. “Let the people decide.”“Fortunately, the people did decide,” he added.
密歇根州的阿卜杜勒·埃尔-赛义德和缅因州的特洛伊·杰克逊在没有舒默或民主党参议员竞选委员会最初支持的情况下，赢得了初选，随后又赢得了大选。然而，一旦他们获得提名，舒默便投入巨资并提供支持。
Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan and Troy Jackson of Maine won their primaries and then their general elections without initial support from Schumer or the DSCC. Once they got the nominations, however, Schumer spent big and lent support.
“这是参议院民主党党团在审视变革含义时需要考虑的众多问题之一，”范霍伦接着说。“因为，正如你所说，那间屋子里有两名成员，是新当选的参议员，如果舒默和民主党参议员竞选委员会（DSCC）如愿以偿，他们根本不会在那里。”这些新当选参议员以及其他党团成员，似乎正在推动范霍伦竞选领袖职位，尽管他早些时候曾表示正在“探探风”，考虑2028年竞选总统。
“This is one of the many issues that the Senate Democratic Caucus needs to consider as we look at what change means,” Van Hollen went on. “Because, as you're saying, we have two members in that room, newly elected senators, who would not be there if Schumer and the DSCC had had their way.”Those newly elected senators, and other caucus members, appear to be pushing Van Hollen toward a leadership bid despite earlier statements that he was “kicking the tires” on a 2028 presidential run.
埃尔-赛义德一直公开支持范霍伦竞选领袖，曾在7月的一次竞选活动中介绍他为下一任多数党领袖。范霍伦是首位背书埃尔-赛义德的参议员。
El-Sayed has been a vocal supporter of Van Hollen as leader if he runs, introducing him as the next majority leader at a campaign event in July. Van Hollen was the first senator to endorse El-Sayed.
杰克逊连同新当选参议员、堪萨斯州的亚当·汉密尔顿和伊利诺伊州的朱莉安娜·斯特拉顿，已明确表示不会支持舒默担任领袖。得克萨斯州的詹姆斯·塔拉里科尚未表态。弗拉纳根和南卡罗来纳州的安妮·安德鲁斯呼吁由新一代领导层接班。
Jackson, along with Sens.-elect Adam Hamilton of Kansas and Juliana Stratton of Illinois, has said plainly that he will not support Schumer for leader. James Talarico of Texas has not made a commitment. Flanagan and Annie Andrews of South Carolina have called for a new generation of leadership.
范霍伦现年67岁，舒默75岁，两人都是婴儿潮一代，因此范霍伦在技术上并不符合安德鲁斯呼吁的“代际更替”。但他确实代表了党内新兴的进步派力量。
Van Hollen, 67, and Schumer, 75, are both baby boomers, so Van Hollen would not technically embody the “generational change” Andrews called for. But he does represent the emerging progressive wing of the party.
范霍伦列举了一份进步派政策愿望清单，涵盖从财富税、恢复已过期的《平价医疗法案》（ACA）医疗补贴、将最低工资提高到每小时20美元，到通过“全民医保”方案——他承认这不大可能通过。但他似乎排除了再次弹劾唐纳德·特朗普总统的可能性。
Van Hollen ticked through a progressive policy dream list that included everything from a wealth tax, reinstating lapsed-ACA healthcare subsidies, raising the minimum wage to $20 an hour and passing Medicare for All — which he admitted was unlikely to pass. But he seemed to rule out impeaching President Donald Trump again.
“我确实认为，花大量时间弹劾特朗普，我的立场很清楚：显然，他犯下了可被弹劾的罪行。他在第一任期内就这么做了，当然也被弹劾过两次。我的看法是，我们最好把时间花在监督听证会上，关注腐败和问责问题，以及这些如何伤害美国民众，”他说。
“I do think that spending a lot of time impeaching Trump, I've made it clear: Obviously, he committed impeachable offenses. He did that in his first term, and of course, was impeached twice. My view is our time would be better spent focused on the oversight hearings and corruption and accountability and how it is hurting the American people,” he said.
范霍伦表示，中期选举传递出的“一个明确信息”是选民对伊朗战争的明确谴责。他说，民主党人“有责任……利用我们的权力结束这场战争，这意味着不会为一场非法战争再提供一分钱。”他在国会山即将面临拨款截止日期之际，向特朗普发起挑战，要求他让政府关门。“那是他的选择。但美国人民已经做出了自己的选择，”他说。
Van Hollen said “one of the clear messages” from the midterm elections was a clear rebuke of the Iran war from voters. He said Democrats “have a responsibility ... to use our power to end the war, and that means not providing one more dime to an illegal war.”He challenged Trump to shut down the government amid an impending funding deadline on Capitol Hill. “That's his choice. But the American people have made their choice," he said.