Was it a con(骗局，欺诈)cession or a con? On August 2nd Todd Blanche, Donald Trump’s pick for attorney-general, produced written assurance that the Department of Justice was scrapping the president’s $1.8bn “anti-weaponisation” fund, a condition that Republican senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina had set for backing him.(8月2日，特朗普提名的司法部长布兰奇出具书面保证，废除总统的18亿美元基金，这是共和党参议员支持他的条件。) The Senate’s judiciary committee duly advanced Mr Blanche’s nomination two days later. Democrats criticised the move as hollow(空洞的，虚伪的), given that Mr Trump can still revive the slush fund(黑钱，行贿基金) in future. But to some Republicans, it was evidence that the Senate can still check(制止，牵制) the president’s worst instincts.
这是让步还是骗局？8月2日，唐纳德·特朗普提名的司法部长人选托德·布兰奇出具书面保证，称司法部将废除总统的18亿美元“反武器化”基金，这是得克萨斯州共和党参议员约翰·科宁和北卡罗来纳州共和党参议员汤姆·蒂利斯支持他的条件。两天后，参议院司法委员会如期推进了布兰奇的提名。民主党人批评此举空洞无物，因为特朗普未来仍可重启这笔“黑钱”。但对一些共和党人来说，这证明参议院仍能约束总统最糟糕的冲动。
Congress remains largely pliant(顺从的，易受影响的) to Mr Trump. But a small band of Republican senators are increasingly defiant(挑衅的，违抗的). Some, such as Mr Tillis and Mr Cornyn, are on their way out(即将离任，即将消失), so have little to lose and are picking more fights(挑起更多争端). Susan Collins of Maine, another senator resisting Mr Trump, faces a Democratic challenger in November. Presiding over(主持，掌管) this is John Thune (pictured), the Senate majority leader who has the blessing of not facing re-election until 2028 and the curse of trying to lead the chamber with Mr Trump in the White House. When senators break for a five-week recess on August 7th, they will have produced few wins for the president. The Democrats “can’t believe how lucky they got with this Senate leadership”, Mr Trump vented(发泄，表达) last month on Truth Social(特朗普创立的社交媒体平台). “Remember, stupidity always brings LOSING & DEATH!”
国会大体上仍对特朗普俯首帖耳。但一小群共和党参议员越来越 defiant。其中一些，如蒂利斯和科宁，即将离任，因此没什么可失去的，反而挑起更多争端。缅因州的苏珊·柯林斯，另一位抵制特朗普的参议员，将在十一月面对民主党挑战者。主持这一切的是约翰·图恩（如图），这位参议院多数党领袖有幸在2028年前无需面对连任，也有不幸要在特朗普入主白宫的情况下领导参议院。当参议员们于8月7日休会五周时，他们为总统取得的胜利寥寥无几。民主党人“简直不敢相信他们在这个参议院领导层上运气这么好”，特朗普上个月在Truth Social上发泄道。“记住，愚蠢总是带来失败和死亡！”
Mr Thune has framed(构建，表述) his reluctance to advance Mr Trump’s agenda this summer less as a matter of policy than one of procedure. He has told the president that the SAVE America Act, a voter-identification bill, lacks the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster(冗长辩论，阻挠议事). Mr Trump’s fix—that Republicans do away with the filibuster—is a non-starter(不可行的事，无成功希望) for the institutionalist(制度主义者，重视制度的人) Mr Thune. “The Republicans are not getting rid of the legislative filibuster,” he said in July. “It’s just a fact, and the facts don’t change.”
图恩先生今年夏天不愿推进特朗普的议程，与其说是政策问题，不如说是程序问题。他已告诉总统，《拯救美国法案》——一项选民身份法案——缺乏克服冗长辩论所需的60票。特朗普的解决办法——让共和党废除冗长辩论——对制度主义者图恩来说是不可行的。“共和党不会废除立法上的冗长辩论，”他在七月表示。“这就是事实，事实不会改变。”