美国国家公共电台 NPR Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch Announces Retirement, With Speculation Focused On Romney

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

2018 will be the last year in the Senate for Orrin Hatch. The Utah Republican announced today that he is retiring and will not seek re-election this November. Hatch has shaped some of the most meaningful legislation of the past 40 years, including that $1.5 trillion tax cut Republicans passed just before Christmas. His retirement¹ also kicks off an open race for a safe Republican seat in the Senate. One potential candidate is former GOP presidential nominee² Mitt³ Romney. Joining us now is NPR congressional correspondent Susan Davis. Hi, Sue.

SUSAN DAVIS, BYLINE⁴: Hey, Ari.

SHAPIRO: Hatch was first elected in 1976. He's the longest-serving Republican in the Senate. What's his legacy⁶?

DAVIS: He is one of only nine senators in the history of the country to serve for 40 or more years. There are few who have ever served in the Congress who have done more to shape modern American life than Orrin Hatch. In his retirement announcement, you could drop maybe what he said a little bit of a humble⁷ brag⁸ in which he noted⁹ that he's written more bills that have become laws than anybody serving in Congress today. Just to give you a sense of the scope of the things he's done - he was a chief author of things like the Americans With Disabilities Act, he wrote the nation's Children's Health Insurance Program law and he was a key author of the USA Patriot¹⁰ Act, which remade the national security apparatus¹¹ after 9/11. He has cast votes for - in the confirmation¹² process of every serving justice on the Supreme¹³ Court.

And he also had a very prolific¹⁴ side life as a songwriter. He's written hundreds of songs over the years. He's a published songwriter and has written songs for the LDS church, of which he is a member, and has collected thousands of dollars in royalties¹⁵ over the years from that.

SHAPIRO: How much of a surprise was his retirement announcement? I know President Trump¹⁶ personally appealed to him not to retire.

DAVIS: For those of us who spend our days on Capitol Hill, it was not much of a surprise. His health has clearly been failing in recent years. He turns 84 later this year. There was a view that if they were to pass a tax cut bill, that that would likely increase his odds¹⁷ of retirement. They achieved that in - before they adjourned¹⁸ for Christmas. He said he wanted that sort of as a capstone to this legislative¹⁹ career. The president did engage. He did try to get Hatch to stay, to run for re-election, although that was often seen as maybe potentially an effort by the president to maybe elbow out Mitt Romney, who has not shot down the suggestions that he should consider running for that seat - and even Orrin Hatch, who has suggested that Mitt Romney could be a good Senate candidate to replace him.

SHAPIRO: And Romney, of course, has not been a friend to President Trump, criticizing him quite openly. How serious is the idea that he might run for this seat?

DAVIS: He has not made any official announcement. He only put out a statement today congratulating Hatch on his career. There has been speculation²⁰ around this for months, and Romney has done nothing to dissuade²¹ the talk, which is fueling speculation that he's in. He's wildly popular in Utah. He'd be heavily favored to win if he gets in. As you noted, he's been a very vocal²² critic of the president, so having him in the Senate could be a very interesting dynamic. This would be his second bid for Congress. He ran against Ted⁵ Kennedy in 1994 in Massachusetts for the Senate and lost. Utah in 2013 is probably more hospitable²³ ground, and he has until March 15 to make up his mind, although he'll likely make a decision well before then.

SHAPIRO: NPR's Susan Davis, thanks so much.

DAVIS: Happy new year.

(SOUNDBITE OF BONUS POINTS' "HAMMOCK DAYS")

1 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

2 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

3 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

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 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

6 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

7 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

8 brag   

v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的

参考例句：

• He made brag of his skill.他夸耀自己技术高明。
• His wealth is his brag.他夸张他的财富。

9 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。

10 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

11 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

12 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

13 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

14 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

15 royalties   

特许权使用费

参考例句：

• I lived on about £3,000 a year from the royalties on my book. 我靠着写书得来的每年约3，000英镑的版税生活。 来自辞典例句
• Payments shall generally be made in the form of royalties. 一般应采取提成方式支付。 来自经济法规部分

16 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。

17 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

18 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。

19 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。

20 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

21 dissuade   

v.劝阻，阻止

参考例句：

• You'd better dissuade him from doing that.你最好劝阻他别那样干。
• I tried to dissuade her from investing her money in stocks and shares.我曾设法劝她不要投资于股票交易。

22 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

23 hospitable   

adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的

参考例句：

• The man is very hospitable.He keeps open house for his friends and fellow-workers.那人十分好客，无论是他的朋友还是同事，他都盛情接待。
• The locals are hospitable and welcoming.当地人热情好客。