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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Low-key Louisiana lawmaker tapped to help lead GOP debt negotiations1
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy turned to a close adviser3 who helped him lock up the votes to be elected speaker for an even tougher assignment: brokering5 a deal to avoid a historic default on country's credit limit.
Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana isn't a top elected leader or committee chairman, but his low-key demeanor6 and expertise7 on energy policy landed him a seat across from the president's top aides in the debt ceiling talks.
South Dakota GOP Rep. Dusty Johnson recently summed up Graves' approach in a House GOP conference that is full of lawmakers with national nicknames who make the rounds on cable news and have large social media followings: "Garret Graves is anonymous8 to everyday Americans, and that's exactly the way he wants it."
Graves helped McCarthy round up the votes to be elected speaker — after 15 ballots9 over four days of tense talks. Now he's pushing the speaker's agenda for shrinking federal spending as part of a deal to increase the country's borrowing authority.
"The numbers are foundational here — the speaker has been very clear: a red line is spending less money and unless and until we're there, the rest of it is really irrelevant," Graves said after one negotiating session at the Capitol.
Over days of talks, he fields questions from a growing pack of reporters covering the various negotiating sessions. On Tuesday he was blunt: "I'm telling you that we still have substantial distance between us and them on the numbers right now," referring to the gulf10 between the House Republicans and the White House negotiators.
Graves' role brokering GOP bills among "5 families"
The Louisiana Republican played a critical role for McCarthy during the drawn11-out fight for the speakership in January, which put him in the middle of a bloc12 of members who were issuing demands.
Republican Study Committee Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla., who heads a group of fiscal13 conservatives that includes Graves, says it was good practice for what was to come.
"You have to appoint people that can sit there and grind this out," Hern said of the debt limit negotiations. "And that's what Garrett's been charged with doing since, you know, back in January, actually, before there was a debt limit issue. He worked on the speaker getting his vote. So he's obviously won the confidence of the speaker to go out and talk with us."
Graves' ability to tamp14 down the drama during the speakership fight caused McCarthy to give him a new post at the leadership table. He coordinates15 strategy with the five House GOP factions16 — dubbed17 the "five families," a reference drawn from the "Godfather" movie about feuding18 mob families.
Johnson heads the Republican Main Street caucus19, a group of more establishment GOP members, and says trust is the reason that Graves was elevated for this latest high-stakes role.
"It's my assessment20 that Garret Graves has not just the trust of the speaker, he has the trust of the conference, and he has the trust of the five families," he told reporters. "And that is noteworthy."
Ohio Republican David Joyce leads another one of those families — the Republican Governance Group — a group of moderates. He says Graves has been briefing him when they run into each other at the gym about the talks. Like others, the first thing he mentions is Graves' sense of humor. He said Graves has a reputation for playing practical jokes and recounted one that played out during a congressional hearing.
"Rodney Davis [a former House member from Illinois], one time at a hearing — [Graves] set up an iPad and the level behind him and above him with an arrow that said 'doofus' — poor Rodney's making his point and everybody sees doofus," Joyce recalled while laughing. "They don't hear a word he's saying!"
North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry, another key McCarthy ally who's been in these debt talks, said there's a general sense of comity21 at the negotiating table — "and since Graves is in the room, a little bit of comedy."
Before he was elected to the House in 2014, Graves chaired a state coastal22 board in Louisiana overseeing construction of levees and negotiating permits for land restoration. In 2010, he was a trustee on the Deep Water Horizon settlement for its Gulf oil spill — the largest in U.S. history.
Joyce notes Graves has a deep knowledge on energy projects. During the debt ceiling talks, House GOP members are pushing to add reforms to speed permitting for new projects to the compromise bill. Graves authored the proposal that was included in the House GOP bill that passed last month. Joyce says mastering policy and the politics of the GOP conference is a balancing act.
"You need somebody who understands and appreciates all points and issues, and [Graves] certainly is very good on the issues that he's handled," he told NPR. "I've worked on a lot with him on climate with him and other things, and he's always very specific, very detailed23, and he's just got a great mind for making sure all the chess pieces are moving on the board."
Graves and top White House negotiator share home district
Graves has built some good relationships across the aisle24. Shalanda Young — the White House budget director and lead negotiator on the debt — is from his south Louisiana district and they've previously25 collaborated26 to approve money for infrastructure27 projects there.
Vermont Democratic Sen. Peter Welch served eight terms in the House and heaped on praise.
"Garrett is a very effective and skillful person. He's got a great temperament28, very smart," he said. "So the fact that Kevin [McCarthy]'s got him involved is an indication of how much respect the speaker has for him."
If Graves can help broker4 a deal, he'll likely be called on to help sell it to to his party — but Johnson says he's not looking for credit.
"Many members of Congress are desperate to want you to believe that they're the smartest person in the room — that is not Garret Graves," he said. "For him, it's about the country. For him, it's about the deal. It is not about getting one more list of accolades29 on Garret Graves — his obituary30. He's the right guy at the right time."
But with a tricky31 path to get a deal to the president's desk before the country defaults, Graves could also be blamed if things go sideways.
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negotiations
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| 协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过 | |
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transcript
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| n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书 | |
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adviser
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| n.劝告者，顾问 | |
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broker
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| n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排 | |
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brokering
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| v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的现在分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排… | |
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demeanor
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| n.行为；风度 | |
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expertise
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| n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长 | |
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anonymous
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| adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的 | |
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ballots
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| 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 ) | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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bloc
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| n.集团；联盟 | |
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fiscal
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| adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的 | |
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tamp
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| v.捣实，砸实 | |
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coordinates
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| n.相配之衣物；坐标( coordinate的名词复数 )；（颜色协调的）配套服装；[复数]女套服；同等重要的人（或物）v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的第三人称单数 )；协调；协同；成为同等 | |
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factions
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| 组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 ) | |
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dubbed
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| v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制 | |
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feuding
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| vi.长期不和（feud的现在分词形式） | |
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caucus
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| n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议 | |
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assessment
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| n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额 | |
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comity
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| n.礼让，礼仪；团结，联合 | |
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coastal
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| adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的 | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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aisle
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| n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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collaborated
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| 合作( collaborate的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾结叛国 | |
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infrastructure
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| n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施 | |
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temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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accolades
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| n.（连结几行谱表的）连谱号( accolade的名词复数 )；嘉奖；（窗、门上方的）桃尖拱形线脚；册封爵士的仪式（用剑面在肩上轻拍一下） | |
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obituary
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| n.讣告，死亡公告；adj.死亡的 | |
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tricky
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| adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的 | |
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