Usha Vance，前最高法院书记员，如今以低调姿态步入聚光灯下，成为特朗普政府中的神秘第二夫人。她随丈夫JD Vance迅速晋升，却在法律事业巅峰急流勇退，转而迎接无说明书、全球瞩目的新角色。本周末，她首次单独出访意大利都灵，为美国队助威。从欧洲之行的亮相到组建工作团队，Usha正悄然确立自己的方向。作为印度移民之女和首位有色人种第二夫人，她智慧与隐私并重，与第一夫人微妙平衡，书写着属于自己的历史篇章。
 

With her husband JD Vance’s rapid political elevation to President Donald Trump’s second-in-command, she stepped away from a successful legal career and into an unelected and ceremonial role that comes with no manual, an automatic global platform, and plenty of scrutiny from the American public and the media.

随着丈夫JD Vance迅速晋升为前总统特朗普的副手，这位曾经的杰出律师悄然退出了法律事业，转而承担起一个非选举产生且象征性的角色——这个职位既没有操作指南，又天然承载着全球关注度，还要经受美国公众和媒体的严格审视。

She faces her first test this weekend. After not speaking publicly or participating in any media interviews in the seven weeks of the Trump administration, Usha Vance is embarking on her first major solo trip as second lady, leading the US delegation to the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin, Italy, where she is joining athletes, coaches, families and fans in cheering on Team USA. She attended the opening ceremony on Saturday.

本周末，Usha Vance迎来首次重大考验。在特朗普政府执政的七周内从未公开发言或接受媒体采访的她，将以第二夫人身份首次单独出访，率美国代表团前往意大利都灵参加特殊奥林匹克冬季运动会。周六她出席了开幕式，与运动员、教练员及家属共同为美国队助威。

She’s already joined the vice president for a high-stakes trip to Europe, appearing by his side in France and Germany and joining him for meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And behind the scenes, a source familiar told CNN, the second lady is assembling a small team of staff, transitioning her three children to life at the Naval Observatory, and settling into the role, for which she will have her own platform and responsibilities. What those will be, however, remains a mystery.

此前她已陪同副总统完成高风险欧洲之行，在法国和德国以配偶身份亮相，并共同会晤法国总统马克龙与印度总理莫迪。据CNN知情人士透露，这位第二夫人正在幕后组建小型工作团队，帮助三个孩子适应海军天文台的生活，同时逐步确立自己的履职方向——该角色将拥有独立平台与专属职责，但具体内容仍是个谜。

As the 39-year-old former Supreme Court clerk contemplates the platform and impact she hopes to have, Vance is described by people who know her as thoughtful, whip-smart and decisive. She is also extremely guarded. CNN reached out to dozens of friends, colleagues and family members; none agreed to speak on the record about her.

现年39岁的Usha曾担任最高法院书记员，知情者评价她思维缜密、才智超群且行事果断，但也极为注重隐私。CNN联系了数十位亲友及同事，无人愿具名谈论她。

While JD Vance has emerged as the president’s attack dog — his interjections, for example, escalated Trump’s Oval Office showdown with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — his wife has largely stayed under the radar.

当JD Vance作为总统的"攻击犬"频频发声（例如他在特朗普与乌克兰总统泽连斯基的白宫对峙中推波助澜）时，其妻子始终保持着低调姿态。

But being a top figurehead in a new administration alongside first lady Melania Trump, who has taken her own approach to the spousal role, is a delicate dynamic she’ll have to navigate.

作为新政府中的重要象征性人物，Usha需要与第一夫人梅拉尼娅·特朗普形成微妙平衡——后者对配偶角色有着独到理解。

Usha Vance has appeared with the first lady at major events such as the inauguration and the president’saddress to Congress, but it is unclear whether they have substantively engaged, as Melania Trump spent four weeks away from Washington at the start of the new administration.

虽然Usha在就职典礼、总统国会演讲等重大场合与梅拉尼娅共同出席，但两人实质性互动尚不明确，因新政

府成立初期梅拉尼娅曾离开华盛顿长达四周。

Asked by Fox News during the campaign whether she had spoken with the first lady about the role, Vance sidestepped the question, saying she had received advice “from various friends who found themselves unexpectedly in the spotlight, or, you know, honestly, just faced crises or other situations that really changed their plans for their lives.” Spokespeople for the first lady and second lady did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on their relationship.

当福克斯新闻询问其是否就角色定位咨询过第一夫人时，Usha避而不答，称自己获得了"许多意外成为焦点、或遭遇重大人生变故的朋友"的建议。两位夫人的发言人均未回应CNN关于双方关系的置评请求。

Who is Usha Vance?

Vance is the youngest second lady to hold the role since the Truman administration and the first to raise school-age children at the Naval Observatory since the Clinton era. Born and raised in San Diego by parents who emigrated from India, Vance is also the first person of color to be second lady.

从杜鲁门政府至今最年轻的第二夫人，也是首位在海军天文台养育学龄子女（自克林顿时期以来）的副总统配偶，Usha Vance还创造了另一项历史——作为印度移民之女，她成为首位有色人种第二夫人。

“That JD and I could meet at all — let alone, fall in love and marry — is a testament to this great country,” she said in remarks to the Republican National Convention in July, saying that her husband “approached our differences with curiosity and enthusiasm.”

"我和JD的相遇相恋，正是这个伟大国家的见证。"她在共和党全国代表大会演讲中说道，并称赞丈夫"以好奇与热情对待我们的差异"。

Vance attended Yale University, where she majored in history and spent her time outside the classroom tutoring local students, volunteering with the homeless and studying ballet. She spent a year after graduation teaching in China, then earned a prestigious Gates Scholarship to Cambridge University to pursue a master’s in philosophy.

耶鲁大学历史系毕业的Usha在校期间担任社区家教，参与流浪者救助，学习芭蕾，毕业后她在中国任教一年，后获盖茨奖学金赴剑桥攻读哲学硕士。

But it was back at Yale where she met JD Vance, a fellow law school classmate. “We were friends first, because — I mean, who wouldn’t want to be friends with JD? He was then, as now, the most interesting person I knew. A working-class guy who had overcome childhood traumas that I could barely fathom,” she said during her RNC speech.

正是在耶鲁法学院，她遇见了同窗JD Vance。"我们最初是朋友，毕竟谁会不想和JD做朋友？"她在党代会演讲中回忆，"这个克服童年创伤的工人阶级男孩，始终是我认识的最有趣的人。"

After their 2013 graduation, the Vancesmarried in June 2014, and JD Vance’s bestselling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” was published two years later. Like her husband, Usha Vance appears to have made her own political shift. According to public records, she was a registered Democrat from 2010 until 2014, but clerked for then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2014 to 2015, and then for conservative Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts from 2017 to 2018.

2013年毕业后，两人于2014年6月成婚。两年后，JD的畅销回忆录《乡下人的悲歌》问世。与丈夫相似，Usha的政治立场也发生转变：公开记录显示她2010至2014年间注册为民主党，但2014-2015年为时任华盛顿特区巡回上诉法院法官布雷特·卡瓦诺担任书记员，2017-2018年又服务于保守派最高法院首席大法官约翰·罗伯茨。

编辑 | ETTBL商务英语翻译
翻译｜Romola
来源｜CNN
声明｜配图取自网络，仅供学习分享使用，侵删