在本周的弹劾尝试未获成功后，一些高层民主党人希望在明年放缓弹劾国防部长皮特·海格塞斯的步伐。
Some top Democrats want to pump the brakes on impeaching Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth next year after this week’s attempt came up short.
众议院军事委员会首席民主党议员、华盛顿州民主党众议员亚当·史密斯表示：“我们有一系列非常艰难的决定要做，我认为我们不应该仓促做出这些决定。”
“We have a very difficult set of decisions to make and I don’t think we should hastily make them,” said Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the top Armed Services Democrat.
他担心该党可能会陷入内部冲突。此前，在本周的弹劾程序性投票中，大量民主党人缺席，引发了焦虑，这可能会分散人们对推动其中期选举斩获的生活成本问题的注意力。
He worries the party could get stuck in internecine conflict after a sizable number of Democratic absences on the impeachment procedural vote caused hand-wringing this week, which could take attention away from cost-of-living issues that powered their midterm gains.
史密斯补充道：“从战略和战术上讲，什么才能最好地推进我们的议程？我担心你昨天看到的正是我们最大挑战之一的预演。”
“Strategically and tactically, what’s going to best advance our agenda? And I worry that what you saw yesterday is a preview of one of our biggest challenges,” Smith added.
不过，由于党团会议中有许多人仍在极力推动弹劾海格塞斯，另一位议员可能会在下一届国会强行进行投票——无论民主党领袖是否愿意。
With plenty in the caucus pushing for a Hegseth impeachment, though, another lawmaker could force a vote next Congress — whether Democratic leaders want it or not.
知情人士透露，众议院少数党党鞭凯瑟琳·克拉克周三上午在一次闭门会议上告诉民主党人，该党因未能让所有成员都出席弹劾投票而让美国人民失望了，他们的职责就是为把他们送到那里的选民出席。
House Minority Whip Katherine Clark told Democrats in a closed-door meeting Wednesday morning that the party had disappointed the American people by not having all of the members there for the impeachment vote, and that it was their job to show up for the people who sent them there, according to people familiar with her comments.
尽管如此，包括克拉克在内的民主党人指出，鉴于除了提出该决议的肯塔基州共和党众议员托马斯·马西之外，没有多少共和党人倒戈，他们原本也不太可能赢得投票。周二，近十名民主党人缺席了将弹劾条款移交司法委员会的投票，民主党议员将此归咎于交通和日程冲突等问题。
Still, Democrats, including Clark, note that they likely couldn’t have won the vote, given the lack of GOP defections beyond Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who introduced the resolution. Nearly a dozen Democrats missed the vote Tuesday referring the impeachment articles to the Judiciary Committee, with Democratic lawmakers blaming traffic and scheduling conflicts, among other issues.
展望下一届国会，高层民主党人计划按照自己的节奏对海格塞斯展开调查，而不是被迫过早出手。情报委员会首席民主党议员、康涅狄格州民主党众议员吉姆·海姆斯表示：“我认为我们应该按照自己的时间表进行监督和调查，而不是托马斯·马西的时间表。我真的很希望看到负担能力继续成为议程的核心。”不过，其他人则希望将弹劾作为一个选项。
Looking ahead to the next Congress, top Democrats plan to conduct investigations into Hegseth on their own terms, rather than letting their hand be forced early. “I think we should do oversight and investigations under our own timetable, not Tom Massie’s,” said Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the top Intelligence Committee Democrat. “And I’d really like to see affordability stay at the center of the agenda.”Still, others wanted to keep impeachment in mind.
外交委员会首席民主党议员、纽约州民主党众议员格雷戈里·米克斯表示：“所有选项都摆在桌面上。我不认为有哪一个民主党人或很多共和党人认为海格塞斯胜任这项工作并且把工作干好了。”
“Everything’s on the table there. I don’t think there’s a single Democrat or a lot of Republicans that think that Hegseth is qualified for the job and has done the job well,” said Rep. Greg Meeks, D-N.Y., the top Foreign Affairs Committee Democrat.