众议院民主党人因11名同僚缺席针对皮特·赫格塞斯的弹劾投票，导致该国防部长的共和党盟友在本周击败了该议案，对此感到愤怒。这一失误引发了民主党内部新的呼声，要求在要求出席全院投票方面收紧纪律。同时，这也为越来越多主张明年优先推进赫格塞斯弹劾的民主党人提供了新的动力——届时他们将控制国会两院——这一举措可能会给主张对行政部门采取更审慎监督方式的党魁带来麻烦。
House Democrats are steaming after 11 colleagues missed a vote to impeach Pete Hegseth, allowing the Defense secretary’s Republican allies to defeat the measure this week. The debacle is leading to new calls for Democrats to tighten the ship when it comes to demanding attendance for floor votes. And it’s providing new fuel to a growing chorus of Democrats who want to prioritize Hegseth's impeachment early next year when they’ll control both chambers of Congress — a push that could pose a headache for party leaders who are proposing a more deliberate approach to executive oversight.
“任何投票因缺席而失利都是绝对不可接受的，就是绝对不可接受，我们需要尽快再次提出该议案，并确保所有人都投入其中，”进步派急先锋、众议员亚历山德拉·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯（民主党-纽约州）表示。“我们必须做好本职工作。我们必须到场。我们必须把这些事办成，这就是事实。我们必须做好工作。我们必须打卡上班。这就是我们来这里的目的，”她补充道。
“It’s absolutely unacceptable that any vote would be lost on absences, like just period. It's totally unacceptable, and we need to raise it up back again as soon as possible and make sure everyone gets on it,” progressive firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said. “We got to do our job. We got to show up. We got to get these things done, and that's just the fact of the matter. We got to do the job. We got to clock in. This is what we're here to do,” she added.
众议员罗·卡纳（民主党-加利福尼亚州）传达了类似的信息。“在重要投票上，我们必须明确要求成员必须到场，”他说。卡纳是越来越多主张明年民主党控制众议院议程后迅速就赫格塞斯弹劾再次投票的议员之一。“我们应该尽快推进，”他说。当被问及民主党在将该议案提交全院表决前是否需要举行听证会或进行调查时，卡纳毫不犹豫地回答：“不，我们应该直接推进。”
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) delivered a similar message. “On important votes, we've got to make clear that people have to come,” he said. Khanna is among the growing list of lawmakers who want to vote quickly on Hegseth’s impeachment again next year when Democrats control the House floor. “We should do it as soon as we can,” he said. Asked if Democrats need hearings or investigations before bringing the measure to the floor, Khanna didn’t miss a beat. “No, we should just push it,” he said.
这一策略为与民主党领袖的冲突埋下伏笔，后者表示反对“仓促”弹劾。虽然他们本周支持针对赫格塞斯的决议，但并未自行将其提交全院表决。对于明年成为多数党后的安排，他们表示希望在诉诸弹劾前，对各特朗普政府官员进行深入调查。众议员皮特·阿吉拉尔（民主党-加利福尼亚州），即将出任下一任众议院多数党领袖，表示民主党领导层没有计划明年重启对赫格塞斯的弹劾。
That strategy sets the stage for a clash with Democratic leaders, who say they’re opposed to “snap” impeachments. While they supported the Hegseth resolution this week, they didn’t bring it to the floor themselves. And in the majority next year, they say they want to conduct deep-dive examinations of various Trump officials before jumping to impeachment. Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), who is in line to become the next House majority leader, said Democratic leaders have no plans to revisit Hegseth’s impeachment next year.
“当我们成为多数党时，我们认真对待追究责任，这将……从监督开始，且尽早启动，”阿吉拉尔说。“但这一点目前并未被讨论。”
“When we are in the majority, we are serious about holding people accountable, and that will ... start early with oversight,” Aguilar said. “But that is not anything that is being discussed at this point.”
这场骚动源于共和党周二晚间在众议院全院表决中阻挠了针对赫格塞斯的八项弹劾条款，这些条款由共和党众议员托马斯·马西（肯塔基州）提出。表决结果为211票对204票，但有11名民主党议员缺席投票。如果其中8名议员在场，弹劾行动本将推进。
The uproar came after Republicans blocked eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth, which were sponsored by GOP Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.), when they came to the floor on Tuesday evening. The vote was 211-204, but 11 Democrats missed the vote. If eight of those lawmakers had been on the floor, the impeachment effort would have advanced.
这11名民主党议员中的部分人，包括梅拉妮·斯坦斯伯里（新墨西哥州）和乔纳森·杰克逊（伊利诺伊州）众议员，表示他们因交通拥堵无法及时赶到众议院会议厅。前议长南希·佩洛西（民主党-加利福尼亚州）办公室在一份声明中表示，她当时正在旧金山参加退伍军人节活动，但支持弹劾赫格塞斯，且本将对移交动议投反对票。内华达州众议员史蒂文·霍斯福德（民主党）周三在发言中表示，“个人紧急情况”导致他到达众议院会议厅延误，他对此“承担全部责任”。
Some of the 11 Democrats, including Reps. Melanie Stansbury (N.M.) and Jonathan Jackson (Ill.), said they were stuck in a traffic jam and couldn’t reach the House chamber on time. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) office said in a statement that she had been at a Veterans Day event in San Francisco but supports impeaching Hegseth and would have voted no on the motion to refer. Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford (D) said in remarks Wednesday that a “personal emergency” delayed his arrival on the House floor and that he takes “full responsibility.”
拉希达·特莱布（民主党-密歇根州）众议员表示，她对缺席者感到愤怒，警告刚刚把多数党地位交给民主党的选民将在下一届国会期待更多作为。“我理解因事故导致难以抵达国会大厦。但我们必须保持最佳状态，尤其是作为多数党，要确保我们交出选票，”她说。
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) said she was furious at the no-shows, warning that voters who just handed Democrats their majority will expect more in the next Congress. “I understand there was difficulty getting to the Capitol because of an accident. But we've got to stay on our game, especially being in the majority, [to] make sure that we deliver the votes,” she said.
特莱布也在推动明年早些时候弹劾赫格塞斯。“绝对——我们必须这么做，”她说。“我认为，当我们允许某人以损害国家最佳利益的方式行事时，这树立了一个危险的先例。”
Tlaib is also pushing to impeach Hegseth early next year. “Absolutely — we have to,” she said. “I think it sets a dangerous precedent when we allow someone to move in a way that is against the best interests of the country."
其他民主党人表示赞同。“我认为每个人都需要参加所有表决，对吧？我是说，那是一次重要的表决。
Other Democrats agreed. “I think everybody needs to be here for all votes, right? I mean, that's an important vote. I don't know what would have made the difference. I don't think it would have made the difference. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't all be here to vote for it,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said.
“我不知道什么会有所不同。我认为不会有所不同。但这并不意味着我们不应该都来这里投票支持它，”众议员吉姆·麦戈文（民主党-马萨诸塞州）说。周二投票的所有民主党人都决定反对将马西的决议提交委员会。“我认为你们昨天看到了民主党人对皮特·赫格塞斯对美国人民构成的危险有何感受，在我看来，他是美国历史上最糟糕的国防部长，我认为他不适合任职，”众议员乔·莫雷尔（民主党-纽约州）说，并指出他确信党团将在“未来几周内”讨论如何推进。
All the Democrats who voted Tuesday decided against sending Massie’s resolution to committee. “I think you saw yesterday how Democrats feel about the danger that Pete Hegseth poses to the American people, the worst Defense secretary, in my view, in the history of the United States, and I don't think he's fit to serve,” Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) said, noting that he’s sure the conference will have a discussion “in the next several weeks” on how to move forward.
马西周一提出了针对赫格塞斯的弹劾条款，指控他滥用职权，在未经国会授权的情况下对伊朗发动战争，在委内瑞拉总统所在国将其扣押，以及监督在国际水域对涉嫌贩毒者的法外处决。马西早在9月就发起了弹劾赫格塞斯的行动，但众议院共和党领导层取消了投票并让议员们提前回家，这使他们避免了对马西决议的表决。
Massie introduced the articles of impeachment against Hegseth on Monday, arguing that he abused his authority by waging a war in Iran without congressional authorization, seizing the Venezuelan president from his own country and overseeing the extrajudicial killings of alleged drug smugglers in international waters. Massie had launched an effort to impeach Hegseth back in September, but House GOP leaders canceled votes and sent lawmakers home early, which allowed them to avoid a vote on Massie’s resolution.
他告诉《政治新闻网》（Politico），他不打算再次在众议院全会上重新提出针对赫格塞斯的弹劾条款。赫格塞斯周二在记者会上为自己辩护，称马西的行动是一场“政治闹剧”，是“由自我和怨恨驱动的个人宣言”。“在美国共和国250年的历史中，从未有过战争部长或国防部长因执行合法军事行动而被弹劾，”赫格塞斯说。
He told Politico he doesn’t plan on reintroducing articles of impeachment against Hegseth on the floor again. Hegseth defended himself during a presser Tuesday, arguing that Massie’s effort was a “political spectacle” and a “personal manifesto driven by ego and resentment.”“In the 250 years of our American republic, no secretary of war or secretary of Defense has ever been impeached for carrying out lawful military operations,” Hegseth said.
“在我们的案例中，这些行动还是成功的。一次都没有。不管有没有战争权力决议。历史很清楚，也非常直白。而一位心怀不满的国会议员想要因为政策分歧就将其撕毁。” “就是这样。政策分歧。”
“And in our case, successful ones at that. Not once. War powers resolution or not. The history is clear and it's very straightforward. And one disgruntled congressman wants to shred it over policy disagreements." “That's what it is. Policy disagreements.”