美国国家公共电台 NPR 刚宣布弹劾条款 民主党就送特朗普一次"胜利"

It's hard to imagine Washington more sharply divided than it is today.

At 9 a.m. House Democrats¹ announced they'd vote on impeaching³ President Trump⁴ based on two articles. Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler described the first charge, abuse of power.

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JERRY NADLER: That is exactly what President Trump did when he solicited⁵ and pressured Ukraine to interfere⁶ in our 2020 presidential election, thus damaging our national security, undermining the integrity of the next election and violating his oath to the American people.

CORNISH: He then described the second charge, obstruction⁷ of Congress.

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NADLER: And when he was caught, when the House investigated and opened an impeachment⁸ inquiry⁹, President Trump engaged in unprecedented¹⁰, categorical and indiscriminate defiance¹¹ of the impeachment inquiry.

CORNISH: The president tweeted his response in all caps — witch hunt.

SHAPIRO: Minutes later, a different picture of Washington emerged. House Democrats handed Trump a big legislative¹² win. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said her party would support a trade deal the Trump administration negotiated with Mexico and Canada.

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NANCY PELOSI: We are so proud of the distance that we have come from where we started with the administration on this legislation. It's a victory for America's workers. It's one that we take great pride in advancing.

CORNISH: So two very different images of Congress in just about an hour — to make sense of it, we're joined by NPR's Sue Davis on Capitol Hill. Hi there, Sue.

SUSAN DAVIS, BYLINE¹³: Hey, Audie.

CORNISH: And Mara Liasson here in the studio, welcome back.

MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: Hi there.

CORNISH: I want to start with you, Sue. Democrats first announced they're going to impeach² the president and then pretty shortly after announced this policy, as it's being described, victory. What is the thinking behind this?

DAVIS: You know, anyone who knows Nancy Pelosi — today does not come as a surprise. She has a long record of working with Republican presidents she doesn't agree with and with Republicans across the aisle¹⁴ she doesn't agree with. She's not a zero-sum politician. The idea that if Trump is winning, Democrats are losing doesn't sell with her. And I think, of course, there are some Democrats who think it's politically insane to give Trump a policy victory that could help him win reelection. But Pelosi and a lot of Democrats that talked today say that if it's good for the country and voters like it, it'll be good for Democrats, too, especially in the place where the House majority will be won or lost.

CORNISH: Mara, we know the White House has long wanted this update or replacement¹⁵ of NAFTA. How did they react to it as, essentially¹⁶, a political win?

LIASSON: The White House is pretty happy about this. They kind of did a dance in the end zone. The big statement came from Vice¹⁷ President Mike Pence, who's been traveling to battleground states, talking up this trade deal. He didn't celebrate it as a win-win or a bipartisan victory. Instead, he said that the Democrats have finally acquiesced¹⁸ to accept this trade deal. And even Nancy Pelosi went on to say, quote, "we ate his lunch," meaning, you know, she got the better of the president in these negotiations¹⁹.

So voters a year ago sent divided government to Washington. They wanted checks and balances, but they also wanted the two parties to work together. And finally, a year later, they got it.

CORNISH: Sue, we've also heard from voters that they worry Congress isn't getting anything done. So are Democrats — with the timing²⁰ of this trade deal, essentially, it looks like they're sensitive to that criticism.

DAVIS: Oh, for sure. I mean, if you think about the timing of this not just along with the impeachment and the politics of that — but it's coming to the end of the first year of the Democratic majority. And there was a lot of anxiety among Democrats, especially the freshmen²¹ in swing seats, about what their majority has accomplished²². What are they going to go home and tell their constituents²³? So USMCA is a huge victory for them. Most of them support it overwhelmingly. Here's one of them, Iowa freshman²⁴ Cindy Axne. This is what she had to say.

CINDY AXNE: I couldn't go anywhere without it being said to me, we've got to pass USMCA. So I'm very glad that today came because this is the most important thing for our state at this moment. And lowering the cost of prescription²⁵ drugs — so this is a great couple of weeks we've got going here. They hit the two big issues that Iowans are facing.

CORNISH: But what does this say about, maybe, where the power is within the Democratic Party at this point?

DAVIS: Well, it's certainly not with the liberal wing, despite what Trump and other Republicans so often say. You know, USMCA and the fact that the articles of impeachment are really rather narrow — they don't include things like the Mueller report in it, which more liberal lawmakers would like — are wins for the moderate wing of the party, and the liberal wing gets that. I talked to New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez today, and here's what she said about the dynamic.

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: Personally, I am not thrilled with how this has developed, but I understand that there are more conservative members of the party that — they want to communicate to their constituents that we are, quote, unquote, "doing something" while impeachment is happening.

LIASSON: So even in a grudging²⁶ way, AOC seems to acknowledge that maybe flipping²⁷ a red district blue is as important, or maybe even more important, than having a million Twitter followers²⁸. You know, the same thing kind of — the resurgence²⁹ of the moderates is also happening on the Democratic primary campaign trail.

CORNISH: Mara, I also want to ask you about the White House reaction to the articles of impeachment. I mean, obviously, I mentioned the tweet, but what else are you hearing?

LIASSON: Well, we've heard — we heard from the White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham. She talked about how these articles of impeachment are baseless. She expects the president to be fully³⁰ exonerated³¹ in the Senate. Here's what she said on Fox News today.

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STEPHANIE GRISHAM: Perhaps Speaker Pelosi had to make a deal with her Dems. I think a lot of her party is having problems in their own districts, and now they just have the two that they went with. One of them is obstruction of Congress, which is code for, he didn't play nice with us. You guys didn't participate in Congress, so now we're going to go ahead and hit you with obstruction of Congress. That's silly.

LIASSON: Well, that's the White House spin. But there were two very different articles with two very different messages, one the Democrats hope people understand, which is Americans didn't get to decide the election by themselves without foreign influence, which the president invited.

And the other one, which they do feel is much more important — and Stephanie Grisham referred to that. They felt constitutionally compelled to pursue this obstruction charge because, as you heard Representative Nadler say, the president, in an unprecedented, categorical, indiscriminate way, defied congressional oversight³², refused to turn over witnesses and documents. And they feel in the long run, that's what could have the most profound consequences if they don't assert their Article One oversight authority over the president and the executive branch.

CORNISH: That's NPR's Mara Liasson. Thank you.

LIASSON: Thank you.

CORNISH: And NPR's Sue Davis up on Capitol Hill. Thank you for your reporting.

DAVIS: You're so welcome.

1 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 impeach   

v.弹劾；检举

参考例句：

• We must impeach the judge for taking bribes.我们一定要检举法官收受贿赂。
• The committee decided to impeach the President.委员会决定弹劾总统。

3 impeaching   

v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的现在分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议

参考例句：

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 solicited   

v.恳求( solicit的过去式和过去分词 )；（指娼妇）拉客；索求；征求

参考例句：

• He's already solicited their support on health care reform. 他已就医疗改革问题请求他们的支持。 来自辞典例句
• We solicited ideas from Princeton University graduates and under graduates. 我们从普林斯顿大学的毕业生与大学生中征求意见。 来自辞典例句

6 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

7 obstruction   

n.阻塞，堵塞；障碍物

参考例句：

• She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。
• The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。

8 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

9 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

10 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

11 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

12 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

13 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

14 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

15 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

16 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

17 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

18 acquiesced   

v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Senior government figures must have acquiesced in the cover-up. 政府高级官员必然已经默许掩盖真相。
• After a lot of persuasion,he finally acquiesced. 经过多次劝说，他最终默许了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

20 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

21 freshmen   

n.（中学或大学的）一年级学生( freshman的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We are freshmen and they are sophomores. 我们是一年级学生，他们是二年级学生。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• University freshmen get lots of razzing, but they like the initiation. 大一新生受各种嘲弄，但是他们对这种入门经验甘之如饴。 来自辞典例句

22 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

23 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

25 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

26 grudging   

adj.勉强的，吝啬的

参考例句：

• He felt a grudging respect for her talents as an organizer.他勉强地对她的组织才能表示尊重。
• After a pause he added"sir."in a dilatory,grudging way.停了一会他才慢吞吞地、勉勉强强地加了一声“先生”。

27 flipping   

讨厌之极的

参考例句：

• I hate this flipping hotel! 我讨厌这个该死的旅馆！
• Don't go flipping your lid. 别发火。

28 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

29 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

30 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

31 exonerated   

v.使免罪，免除( exonerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The police report exonerated Lewis from all charges of corruption. 警方的报告免除了对刘易斯贪污的所有指控。
• An investigation exonerated the school from any blame. 一项调查证明该学校没有任何过失。 来自辞典例句

32 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。