民主党人正大声疾呼，要求再次迅速发起行动罢免皮特·赫格塞斯，但他们遇到了一个新障碍：本党领袖。
Democrats are clamoring for another quick chance to take down Pete Hegseth, but they’re running into a new obstacle: their own party’s leaders.
就在共和党人挫败了一项罢免五角大楼首长的努力、而民主党人未能让所有成员都到场投票几天之后，即将成为多数党的一些关键领袖发出信号，表示他们想专注于其他紧迫问题，并让针对赫格塞斯的进一步调查在委员会层面推进。
Days after Republicansstaved off an effort to unseat the Pentagon chief — and Democrats failed to get all their members to the vote — some key leaders in the incoming majority are signaling they want to focus on other pressing issues and allow further Hegseth investigations to work their way through committees.
这种张力凸显了下届国会面临的一项核心挑战。民主党人誓言要让国防部长承担责任。但在1月发起一场白刃战式的弹劾斗争，可能导致指控站不住脚，掩盖其他优先事项——从生活成本立法到更广泛的政府调查——并削弱他们的政治声势。
The tension underscores a central challenge of the next Congress. Democrats have vowed to hold the Defense secretary accountable. But a bare-knuckles impeachment battle in January could lead to a weak case and overshadow other priorities — from cost-of-living legislation to wider administration investigations — and blunt their political momentum.
“我们需要就什么是正确且最明智的前进方式进行一次对话，”众议院军事委员会首席议员亚当·史密斯（民主党-华盛顿州）说，他预计将在1月接任该委员会主席。“我们需要冷静思考片刻，而不是凭冲动行事。”少数党领袖哈基姆·杰弗里斯（民主党-纽约州）——预计将成为下一任众议院议长——支持了本周的弹劾行动，并要求赫格塞斯承担责任。
“We need to have a conversation about what the right and most intelligent way is to move forward,” said House Armed Services Committee ranking member Adam Smith (D-Wash.), who will likely take the panel’s gavel in January. “We need to think for a minute instead of just shooting from the hip.”Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) — who is expected to become the next House speaker — supported this week’s impeachment effort and has demanded accountability for Hegseth.
但他尚未批准立即再次发起尝试，而是将具体推进方式交由史密斯和众议院司法委员会首席议员杰米·拉斯金（民主党-马里兰州）决定。杰弗里斯的办公室坚称，他并未偏离这一最终目标。
But he has stopped short of blessing another immediate attempt, deferring to Smith and House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on how exactly to proceed. Jeffries’ office insisted he hasn’t strayed from that eventual goal.
“杰弗里斯领袖已多次明确表示，皮特·赫格塞斯必须下台，”杰弗里斯办公室在一份声明中说。“如果他明年仍在任，众议院民主党人绝不会犹豫弹劾这位所谓的国防部长。”民主党人继续明确表示，他们痛恨赫格塞斯带领五角大楼走的方向，从攻击涉嫌走私毒品的船只，到一次导致数百名伊朗学童丧生的无人机袭击。许多人正在推动尽快获得另一个机会。
“Leader Jeffries has repeatedly made clear that Pete Hegseth must go,” Jeffries' office said in a statement. “House Democrats will not hesitate to impeach the so-called Secretary of Defense if he is still around next year.”Democrats continue to make it clear that they despise the direction Hegseth has taken the Pentagon, from attacks on alleged drug-smuggling boats to a drone strike that killed hundreds of Iranian schoolchildren. And many are pushing for another opportunity — soon.
“我们将追究他的责任，”众议院军事委员会成员、众议员萨拉·雅各布斯（民主党-加利福尼亚州）说。“这将在1月发生。”一些以推翻赫格塞斯为竞选纲领的新当选民主党人承诺将迅速采取行动。
“We’re going to hold him accountable,” said Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee. “It will happen in January.”And incoming Democrats, some of whom ran on platforms to oust Hegseth, are promising fast action.
“做好准备，混蛋，因为我们要来了，”民主党人理查德·奥赫达说，他是一名退役陆军少校，在北卡罗来纳州赢得了一个众议院席位。
“Get ready, asshole, because we’re coming,” said Democrat Richard Ojeda, a former Army major who won a House seat in North Carolina.
但弹劾——极为罕见——可能耗时数月，占用宝贵的议场时间，并将焦点从民主党领袖承诺专注于改善经济民生和打击腐败的承诺上转移开。
But impeachment — which is exceedingly rare — can take months, dominating precious floor time and shifting the focus away from top Democrats’ promise to focus on improving economic livelihoods and targeting corruption.
任何众议员都可以提出弹劾条款并强制进行快速表决。但在没有党领导层批准的情况下占用众议院议场在政治上将是冒险的。
Any House member could offer articles of impeachment and force a quick vote. But tying up the House floor without the blessing of party leadership would be politically risky.
拉金作为预计将出任众议院司法委员会主席的人选，将帮助规划前进道路，他周二表示，失败的弹劾表决是“一个错失的机会”。但他指出，托马斯·马西众议员的八项弹劾条款中的一些与民主党的监督优先事项重叠，包括伊朗战争和加勒比海地区的法外处决。“这不是最后一次机会，”他说。
Raskin, who as likely House Judiciary chair will help chart a path forward, said Tuesday’s failed impeachment vote was “a missed opportunity.”But he noted some of Rep. Thomas Massie's eight impeachment articles overlapped with Democratic oversight priorities, including the Iran war and extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean. “It’s not the last opportunity,” he said.
民主党人可以选择将重点缩小到更少的条款上，或者完全选择一组不同的弹劾对象。
Democrats could choose to narrow their focus on fewer articles or select a different set of targets entirely.
甚至批评赫格塞斯的共和党人也质疑马西的指控是否聚焦于实际犯罪。
Even Republican critics of Hegseth questioned whether Massie’s charges focused on actual crimes.
“在一些问题上，我确实与国防部长意见不合，但我的担忧在于实际的弹劾指控，”内布拉斯加州共和党众议员唐·培根说。“我并非反对对伊朗开战，但我认为本可以打得更好。……我会以不同方式处理毒品船只吗？可能会。但我不认为这些是可以弹劾他的问题。”但一些民主党人表示，他们不想等太久，以免失去势头。
“There are areas that I really disagree with the secretary on, but my concern is with the actual impeachment charges,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said. “I’m not anti-Iran war, but I think it could have been fought better. … Would I have handled drug boats differently? Probably. But I don’t think these are issues you can impeach him on.”But some Democrats say they don’t want to wait too long and lose momentum.
伊利诺伊州民主党众议员乔纳森·杰克逊承认，众议院领导人一旦掌权，将面临“1000件事情”。
Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.) acknowledged there are “1,000 things” the House leader would face as soon as they take power.
“所以，确实存在这种自然张力，但这就是创造性过程，”他说。“因此，我将与其他人一起，推动让[赫格塞斯]成为优先事项。”特朗普政府似乎准备迎战。
“So yes, there is that natural tension, but that's the creative process,” he said. “And so I, along with other people, are going to be pushing to make [Hegseth] a priority.”The Trump administration appears ready to fight.
周二，赫格塞斯举行了一场罕见的五角大楼新闻发布会，将弹劾行动称为对美军——以及特朗普——的攻击。
Hegseth held a rare Pentagon press conference on Tuesday and labeled the impeachment effortan attack on American troops — and Trump.
周二，白宫还发布了一份文件，称弹劾是“一种损害我们的战斗人员、我们国家宪法和国家安全的、出于政治动机的失控行动”。科罗拉多州民主党众议员杰森·克劳说，正是这种理由让他明白，赫格塞斯需要成为政府的首要目标。
And the White House on Tuesday circulated a document calling impeachment a “rogue, politically motivated effort to undermine our warfighters, our nation’s Constitution, and our national security.”Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) said it was that kind of rationale that made it clear Hegseth needed to be the first target of the administration.
他“最直接地危及了我们部队的安全，”他说，“而且我们已经形成了广泛共识。”
He’s “most directly jeopardizing the security of our troops,” he said, “and we have a broad-based consensus.”