美国国家公共电台 NPR--The House has voted 6 times without choosing a speaker

The House has voted 6 times without choosing a speaker

Transcript¹

Lawmakers are embroiled² in a dayslong stalemate over electing the next speaker of the House. Kevin McCarthy starts a third day facing a group of fellow Republicans who object to him.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

A historic stalemate in the U.S. House is headed into its third day as Republicans failed again to elect a speaker.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy started Wednesday hopeful that he would have the speaker's gavel by day's end.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KEVIN MCCARTHY: We could go through every name in the conference and be at the end of the day, but we'll be able to get there.

INSKEEP: But if McCarthy does get there at the end of the day, as the expression goes, that day was not going to be Wednesday. Not only did he fall short three more times as some of his fellow Republicans voted against him, his party barely had enough votes to adjourn³ last night.

MART?NEZ: NPR's congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales joins us this morning. So clearly, both sides are dug in here, and that means business is not getting done. Will we see a repeat today?

CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE⁴: It's possible. For example, we saw the 20 conservative Republicans voting against Leader McCarthy hold firm for a second day in a row, much more than the four he can afford to lose for a speakership bid. But we did see some small signs of progress last night. After McCarthy lost that sixth round of ballots⁵, he met with his opponents to try to offer up new concessions⁶. And as he was leaving that meeting, he sounded a note of optimism again.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MCCARTHY: I think it's probably best - let people work through some more. I think - I don't think voting tonight does any difference, but I think voting in the future will.

GRISALES: Soon after, Republicans were able to win a motion to adjourn for the night, but only by two votes, another reminder⁷ of the razor-thin margins⁸ in the House.

MART?NEZ: Yeah. What's the plan for today?

GRISALES: The chamber⁹ is once again set to convene¹⁰ at noon today for more votes, but Republicans were still hoping to reach a deal for McCarthy in the interim¹¹. But just as we mentioned yesterday, there's still plenty of division and little room for error. McCarthy can only lose a handful of members in his conference to win the speakership, and we saw another sign that his opposition¹² could grow yesterday. In addition to the 20 defectors, a new Republican flipped¹³ on him. Indiana Representative Victoria Spartz voted present, depriving McCarthy of yet another vote in his favor. She tweeted that Republicans needed time to deliberate further until they have enough votes to elect a speaker and, quote, "stop wasting everyone's time."

MART?NEZ: So what could McCarthy do to get over this hump?

GRISALES: McCarthy has made a lot of concessions to his opponent already, including offering up an option for only five members to move to remove him as speaker, something that would require a much higher threshold normally. And last night, McCarthy's super PAC reached a deal with an influential¹⁴ group, the Club for Growth, in support of his bid, and that was to back off spending in certain, quote, "safe GOP districts" to support a particular candidate, addressing one more demand from these conservatives. One of McCarthy supporters in Nebraska, Representative Don Bacon, who's entertained working with Democrats¹⁵ to elect a unity¹⁶ speaker, said McCarthy just needs more time to reach a deal with his opponents.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DON BACON: I believe that there would be folks on the other side of the aisle¹⁷ that will make a deal with us when it comes to working on committees and things like that. But we don't want to go down this path too far. This is about Kevin McCarthy right now. Give him every opportunity to win.

MART?NEZ: So if there isn't a light at the end of the tunnel deal waiting, how long could this last?

GRISALES: That's a big question looming¹⁸ over the chamber. Democrats have warned their members they should be prepared to even stay through the weekend. But again, we should note this is an urgent concern. Much of the business of the House is on hold. Members are not getting sworn in. They cannot address a request from their constituents¹⁹. They cannot form committees or hold official meetings or access intel briefings. In other words, nothing gets done until this gets done.

MART?NEZ: NPR's Claudia Grisales, thanks a lot.

GRISALES: Thank you much.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 embroiled   

adj.卷入的；纠缠不清的

参考例句：

• He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours. 他与邻居们发生了争执。
• John and Peter were quarrelling, but Mary refused to get embroiled. 约翰和彼得在争吵，但玛丽不愿卷入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 adjourn   

v.（使）休会，（使）休庭

参考例句：

• The motion to adjourn was carried.休会的提议通过了。
• I am afraid the court may not adjourn until three or even later.我担心法庭要到3点或更晚时才会休庭。

4 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。

5 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

7 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

8 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

9 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

10 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

11 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

13 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

14 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

15 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》

16 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

17 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。

18 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

19 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》