CHINESE TRUMP, WAR POWER FAIL, & BYE BYE POWELL

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The Senate on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, rejected a war powers resolution that would have directed President Donald Trump to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities against Iran, with the measure failing by a vote of 50 to 49.

The resolution was the seventh such attempt in the Senate since the war with Iran began on February 28, 2026. It was sponsored by Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, and brought under the War Powers Resolution of 1973. Three Republican senators voted in favor of advancing the measure: Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. Senator John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, was the sole Democrat to vote against the measure, providing the deciding vote that sank it.

Murkowski's vote was notable because she had voted against previous iterations of the resolution. She told reporters after the vote that she had expected to receive more clarity from the administration after the 60-day window under the War Powers Resolution elapsed, and said she had not received that clarity. Senator Rand Paul has voted in favor of all seven attempts. Collins first voted for such a measure last month.

The War Powers Resolution of 1973 requires the president to report to Congress within 48 hours of deploying forces without a declaration of war, and caps any unauthorized military engagement at 60 days. President Donald Trump formally notified Congress of military action against Iran on March 2, starting that clock. The Trump administration has argued the 60-day deadline no longer applies because a ceasefire took effect on April 7, halting hostilities before the deadline elapsed. In a May 1 letter to Congress, Trump stated there had been "no exchange of fire" since April 7 and declared that "the hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the War Powers Act is "unconstitutional, 100 percent," adding that the same position has been held by "every single president" since the law passed in 1973. During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that if Trump decided to resume strikes against Iran, the administration believed it already had "all the authorities necessary to do so." When Murkowski asked Hegseth whether congressional authorization would be helpful to the president, Hegseth replied, "Our view is that he has all the authorities he needs under Article II to execute."

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, urged Republicans to hold together ahead of the vote, noting that Trump was traveling overseas for high-stakes meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "I think it would be best if everybody hung together and supported the president," Thune said. Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, the second-ranking Senate Republican, also urged unity, arguing that Democrats were attempting to undermine the president while he was abroad.

The left argues that the vote represents meaningful and growing erosion of Republican unity behind Trump's handling of the Iran conflict. TIME and CBS News emphasized that Murkowski's shift was politically significant given her prior resistance, and gave prominent placement to Senator Tim Kaine's assertion that "doubt" was creeping into Republican statements and that a day would come when the Senate would tell the president to stop the war. Both outlets also highlighted Democratic arguments that military activity has continued despite the declared ceasefire, including a naval blockade of Iranian ports and Iranian attacks that prompted American retaliation, and noted that some Democrats are privately discussing suing the president over the conflict continuing past the legal deadline without authorization.

The right argues that Democrats have mounted a sustained campaign to fracture Republican support for Operation Epic Fury, and frames the result as a failure of that effort. Fox News emphasized that despite the new defection, the measure still fell short and ongoing operations were not terminated. Fox News also reported that on Tuesday, hours before the vote, Trump described the ceasefire as on "massive life support" with "a 1% chance" of surviving, after rejecting a new Iranian proposal, and quoted Trump directly: "I would call it the weakest, right now, after reading that piece of garbage they sent us." Newsweek provided additional context about the human toll and public opinion, citing an April poll of 2,560 adults showing 61 percent of Americans believe it was a mistake to start the war, while 79 percent of Republican voters support Trump's decision. Newsweek also cited figures from the U.S.-based Iranian human rights group HRANA placing the death toll at 3,636 since February 28, including 1,701 civilians and at least 254 children.

All four sources agreed on every core fact: the vote count, the date, the names of the three Republican defectors, Fetterman's decisive crossover vote, the resolution's sponsor, the 60-day War Powers Resolution framework, the April 7 ceasefire, Trump's May 1 letter to Congress, and the Hegseth hearing exchange with Murkowski. The overlap across left- and right-leaning outlets on these details is exceptionally strong, and readers can treat the shared facts above with high confidence. The score falls short of 100 percent mainly because significant contextual claims — Trump's "life support" comments, casualty figures, and polling data — appeared only on one side and could not be cross-verified within these four articles.

Left-leaning:

— LEFT-1: TIME | https://time.com/article/2026/05/13/iran-war-vote-senate-murkowski-closest-vote-yet/

— LEFT-2: CBS News | https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-defeats-7th-trump-war-powers-iran/

Right-leaning:

— RIGHT-1: Newsweek | https://www.newsweek.com/senate-republicans-break-ranks-trump-iran-war-powers-vote-11947352

— RIGHT-2: Fox News | https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-democrats-finally-crack-gop-unity-trumps-iran-war-murkowski-flips

The Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in a 54-45 vote largely along party lines. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to vote in favor of the nomination.

Warsh, 56, will succeed Jerome Powell, whose term as Fed chair expires on Friday, May 15, 2026. Warsh previously served on the Fed's Board of Governors from 2006 to 2011 and was a former Morgan Stanley banker. On Tuesday, the Senate separately voted 51-45 to confirm Warsh to a 14-year term on the Fed's Board of Governors, a required step before serving as chair.

Powell will not leave the Federal Reserve entirely. He plans to remain on the Fed's Board of Governors, retaining a vote on the 12-member Federal Open Market Committee that sets interest rates. Powell stated he intends to "keep a low profile" and has said he will not depart until investigations into a renovation project at the Fed's headquarters are fully resolved. His term on the board runs through 2028.

Warsh inherits a central bank facing rising inflation. A consumer price index report released Tuesday showed annual inflation rose to 3.8% for the year ending in April, the highest reading in nearly three years, and well above the Fed's 2% target. The war in Iran has disrupted energy markets and contributed to upward pressure on prices. President Donald Trump has publicly called for lower interest rates.

During his April 21, 2026 confirmation hearing, Warsh pledged to keep monetary policy independent from the White House. He has signaled he intends to make changes to how the Fed communicates with the public and has criticized what he views as the institution's tendency toward inertia.

The left argues that Warsh's confirmation came with significant institutional risk attached. NPR and Axios both reported that Warsh's confirmation was delayed after the Justice Department launched a criminal investigation of the Federal Reserve, and that Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina initially blocked a committee vote on the nomination in protest before dropping his opposition after a U.S. attorney agreed to drop the probe. Axios also noted that Warsh takes over with less bipartisan support than any previous Fed chair in the modern era, and that a pending Supreme Court case over whether President Trump can fire Biden-appointed Fed Governor Lisa Cook adds further uncertainty to the institution's independence.

The right argues that Warsh's confirmation represents a necessary course correction at an institution that had grown too politically entangled. Fox News and the Washington Examiner emphasized Warsh's stated commitment to keeping the Fed "in its lane" and out of social policy, and framed his arrival as a pivotal moment for reshaping how the central bank operates in Washington. The Washington Examiner also highlighted Wednesday's producer price index report, which showed wholesale inflation rising to 6% — the highest since 2022 — a data point omitted from the left-leaning coverage, underscoring the scope of the inflation challenge Warsh faces.

All four outlets confirmed the same core facts: the 54-45 vote, Fetterman as the sole Democratic crossover, the Friday expiration of Powell's chairmanship, Powell's decision to remain on the board, the 3.8% annual inflation figure, and Warsh's prior service on the Fed. The high overlap on these central facts gives readers strong reason to treat the shared section as reliable. The score is not higher because right-leaning sources did not report the DOJ investigation or the Tillis delay, and left-leaning sources did not report the 6% producer price index figure — each a meaningful omission that affects the full picture.

Left-leaning:

— LEFT-1: NPR | https://www.npr.org/2026/05/13/nx-s1-5816235/kevin-warsh-federal-reserve-chair-jerome-powell

— LEFT-2: Axios | https://www.axios.com/2026/05/13/warsh-fed-senate-trump

Right-leaning:

— RIGHT-1: Fox News | https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-confirms-kevin-warsh-fed-chair-trumps-economic-vision-comes-focus

— RIGHT-2: Washington Examiner | https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/senate/4566843/warsh-confirmed-fed-chairman-face-renewed-inflation-threat/

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for two hours and fifteen minutes at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to China since Trump's own trip in 2017. The bilateral session was followed by a visit to the Temple of Heaven and a state banquet, also at the Great Hall of the People.

According to China's foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, Xi stressed to Trump that Taiwan is "the most important issue in China-U.S. relations," warning that if it is not "handled properly, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy." Xi also said that "'Taiwan independence' and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water." The White House readout of the meeting made no mention of Taiwan. When reporters asked Trump whether Taiwan came up, he did not respond. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC News that U.S. policy on Taiwan is "unchanged" and "has been pretty consistent across multiple presidential administrations."

The White House said both sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy, that China opposes the militarization of the strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use, and that both countries agreed Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview that Xi said he would like to help reach a deal with Iran and offered his assistance, and that Xi told him China would not provide military equipment to Iran, which Trump called "a big statement."

On trade, the White House said the two sides discussed expanding market access for American businesses into China and increasing Chinese investment into U.S. industries. Trump revealed in his interview with Hannity that Xi agreed to purchase 200 jets from Boeing. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. and China would set up a protocol on AI safety and best practices to prevent non-state actors from obtaining AI models.

More than a dozen American chief executives traveled with Trump to Beijing, including Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Apple CEO Tim Cook, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon. All 17 executives met separately with Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People. Musk said talks were "awesome." Huang said the trip was "an incredible opportunity" to "represent the United States and support the president." Cook gave reporters a thumbs-up.

At the state banquet, Trump described talks as "extremely positive and productive" and invited Xi and his wife to the White House on September 24. Xi said the U.S.-China relationship is "the most important bilateral relationship in the world" and that "achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and Making America Great Again can go hand in hand." Both leaders called for the two countries to be "partners, not rivals." The two leaders also visited Beijing's Temple of Heaven; Trump is the first sitting U.S. president to visit the site since Gerald Ford in 1975.

Today's meeting lasted approximately 35 minutes longer than Trump and Xi's previous in-person meeting, which took place in Busan, South Korea, in October 2025.

The left argues that the divergence between the U.S. and Chinese readouts — with Taiwan prominently featured in Beijing's account and entirely absent from Washington's — raises questions about what was actually resolved or conceded on the island's status. Left-leaning outlets gave significant attention to Taiwan's government response, quoting Taiwanese Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee calling China's "military threat the sole source of insecurity in the Taiwan Strait," and to Secretary of State Marco Rubio's acknowledgment that China would prefer Taiwan to "willingly, voluntarily" join the mainland. CBS News also highlighted that pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai's son said he had not heard from the Trump administration despite Trump's pre-trip pledge to raise Lai's imprisonment with Xi.

The right argues that China's pre-summit military and diplomatic conduct toward Iran — including alleged transfers of dual-use materials for ballistic missile production — represents the summit's most critical unresolved challenge. Right-leaning outlets gave prominent space to Senator Lindsey Graham's warning that the summit's success depends entirely on China's post-summit actions regarding Iran and Russia, and to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's demand that Trump directly confront Xi over Chinese companies allegedly transferring technology that endangers American forces. Fox News also reported that Rubio traveled to Beijing despite being under Chinese sanctions, with Chinese officials appearing to have altered the transliteration of his name to facilitate his entry.

All four articles converge strongly on the core facts of this summit: the duration of the bilateral meeting, the substance of the White House readout, the text of China's Taiwan warning (attributed to spokesperson Mao Ning), the presence and identity of the business executives, the Boeing deal, the Hormuz and Iran nuclear agreements, the state banquet, the Temple of Heaven visit, and Trump's White House invitation to Xi. The score is not higher because one significant claim — the Boeing 200-jet order — appears explicitly only in the right-leaning Fox News live blog based on Trump's Hannity interview, and is not independently confirmed in the left-leaning articles, which referenced a Boeing order only in general terms via Bessent's earlier comments. Readers can trust the shared facts above with high confidence.

Left-leaning:

— LEFT-1: CBS News | https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-xi-jinping-meeting-china-beijing-trade-tariffs-taiwan-iran/

— LEFT-2: NBC News | https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/live-blog/trump-china-trip-xi-live-updates-rcna344529

Right-leaning:

— RIGHT-1: Fox News (Live Blog) | https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/trump-heads-to-beijing-for-high-stakes-xi-summit-as-taiwan-tensions-trade-disputes-test-us-strength

— RIGHT-2: Fox News (Politics) | https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trumps-upbeat-china-message-collides-deepening-beijing-rivalry