美国国家公共电台 NPR--The Republican-controlled House will try again to elect a speaker

The Republican-controlled House will try again to elect a speaker

Transcript¹

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives face another historic day without a speaker — while constituents² in districts back home share their frustration³ with the stalemate.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

What do voters think of a long-running fight over who serves as House speaker?

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The House adjourned⁴ last night after an 11th round of balloting⁵ failed to produce a winner. Republicans hold the majority, but a small faction⁶ will not go along with their choice of Kevin McCarthy as speaker. This is now the most drawn-out speaker's race since before the Civil War, and as it unfolded, NPR member station reporters talked with some of the lawmakers' constituents, including Republican Robert Stepp of Colorado, whose representative is one of the holdouts, Lauren Boebert.

ROBERT STEPP: Well, I think it's a bunch of BS myself because they're trying to get a speaker into the House and everything, and nobody's wanting to agree on what, and it's just a bunch of nonsense that's going on.

MART?NEZ: NPR's congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales is with us. So we heard Robert Stepp of Colorado say it's a bunch of nonsense. Claudia, what are other voters saying?

CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE⁷: They're expressing dismay over these holdouts. There's 20 who have repeatedly voted against GOP leader Kevin McCarthy in his bid to be the next speaker. And as you mentioned, one of those rebels is Lauren Boebert, who won a tight race in her district. And here's what more of her constituents told NPR member station reporter Stina Sieg.

LINDA DITTMAN: Well, I think it's pretty silly.

PETER KEMPENICH: We should be doing part - making every effort to be bipartisan and still work for the people.

MARY ANN WRIGHT: It's just confusion. It's pandemonium⁸. No business is getting done. Other people are suffering because of it.

GRISALES: That's Linda Dittman, Peter Kempenich and Mary Ann Wright, who all live in Boebert's district. And in Arizona, constituents also shared their frustration with station reporter Zac Ziegler over at least one GOP holdout there, Representative Eli Crane.

NATALIA SZYMCZAK: I hope they find someone to speak, and I hope it's not Kevin McCarthy.

EMILIANO DE LA ROSA: It seems almost like it's on a road to implode⁹ if they don't change things up soon.

ELSIE GOMEZ: They don't look very strong right now (laughter), to be honest.

GRISALES: That's Natalia Szymczak, Emiliano de la Rosa and Elsie Gomez in Flagstaff, Ariz. And Gomez noted¹⁰ she's a McCarthy supporter, and she just wants Republicans to pick him as speaker and move on.

MART?NEZ: So where is McCarthy's fight for speaker now?

GRISALES: Well, even though Republicans did go 11 failed rounds of votes, their negotiations¹¹ continue today. McCarthy made a new offer to his opponents. And while there's no deal yet, there's more meetings to come this morning. McCarthy said he made another big concession¹². He lowered the threshold again to allow just one member to call for a vote to oust¹³ him if he does become speaker. That's down from five in recent days and dramatically lower than under recent speakers. Last night, McCarthy told reporters he's not putting a timeline on when they could reach a deal.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KEVIN MCCARTHY: I just think we've got some progress going on. We've got members talking. I think we've got a little movement. So we'll see.

GRISALES: McCarthy has also made new concessions¹⁴ to get more of these rebels on key committees. But we should note, these concessions would significantly weaken him if he does become speaker.

MART?NEZ: But are they enough to break the stalemate?

GRISALES: That remains¹⁵ to be seen. Some holdouts, like South Carolina Representative Ralph Norman, left a closed-door meeting saying, this is, quote, "round one," but he also called it a good thing. Nebraska Representative Don Bacon, a McCarthy supporter, says they're halfway¹⁶ there to locking in votes from the 20 holdouts. But that all said, McCarthy can only lose four of his members to get the speaker's gavel, and it's still not clear, even on day four, he'll get there.

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 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》

3 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

4 adjourned   

（使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court adjourned for lunch. 午餐时间法庭休庭。
• The trial was adjourned following the presentation of new evidence to the court. 新证据呈到庭上后，审讯就宣告暂停。

5 balloting   

v.（使）投票表决( ballot的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Clark took a commanding leading in the early balloting. 在最初投票时，克拉克遥遥领先。 来自辞典例句
• The balloting had stagnated, he couldn't win. 投票工作陷于停顿，他不能得胜。 来自辞典例句

6 faction   

n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争

参考例句：

• Faction and self-interest appear to be the norm.派系之争和自私自利看来非常普遍。
• I now understood clearly that I was caught between the king and the Bunam's faction.我现在完全明白自己已陷入困境，在国王与布纳姆集团之间左右为难。

7 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。

8 pandemonium   

n.喧嚣，大混乱

参考例句：

• The whole lobby was a perfect pandemonium,and the din was terrific.整个门厅一片嘈杂，而且喧嚣刺耳。
• I had found Adlai unperturbed in the midst of pandemonium.我觉得艾德莱在一片大混乱中仍然镇定自若。

9 implode   

v.内爆，剧减

参考例句：

• The engine imploded.发动机内爆了。
• He has nightmares about the tanks imploding.他老是做油箱爆炸的噩梦。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 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。

12 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

13 oust   

vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐

参考例句：

• The committee wanted to oust him from the union.委员会想把他从工会中驱逐出去。
• The leaders have been ousted from power by nationalists.这些领导人被民族主义者赶下了台。

14 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。

15 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

16 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。