Senat Amerika Serikat melakukan pemungutan suara pada Rabu, 13 Mei 2026, untuk meresmikan Kevin Warsh sebagai Ketua Federal Reserve yang baru. Keputusan ini diambil guna mengisi posisi puncak bank sentral AS di tengah tantangan ekonomi dan tekanan politik yang meningkat.
Pengangkatan Warsh yang merupakan mantan eksekutif Morgan Stanley dan sekutu dekat Presiden Donald Trump, terjadi saat masa jabatan Jerome Powell berakhir. Meskipun berhasil mendapatkan dukungan mayoritas, pencalonannya sempat dibayangi keraguan dari sejumlah pihak mengenai kemandiriannya terhadap pengaruh eksekutif.
"The Senate voted to install Kevin Warsh as chair of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, handing the millionaire Trump ally the reins of America’s monetary policy even as he faced skepticism over his ability to remain independent of presidential influence." kata Steve Benen dari MS NOW.
Di sisi lain, tantangan ekonomi domestik semakin berat setelah Biro Statistik Tenaga Kerja melaporkan lonjakan inflasi pada tingkat produsen untuk periode April. Indeks harga produsen yang disesuaikan secara musiman melonjak 1,4 persen, jauh melampaui prediksi konsensus Dow Jones yang hanya memperkirakan kenaikan 0,5 persen.
"Wholesale prices in April posted their highest annual increase in more than three years, signaling more nettlesome inflation as pipeline costs intensify. The producer price index rose a seasonally adjusted 1.4% for the month, much higher than the 0.5% Dow Jones consensus forecast and the upwardly revised 0.7% March increase, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. This was the largest monthly gain since March 2022." lapor Biro Statistik Tenaga Kerja.
Selain masalah moneter, dinamika politik luar negeri juga mewarnai situasi di Washington saat Presiden Trump melakukan kunjungan ke Beijing. Sambutan yang diterima Trump di China, yang hanya dihadiri oleh Wakil Presiden Han Zheng, dinilai sebagai pesan diplomatik tertentu dari pemerintah setempat.
"President Trump arrived Wednesday night in Beijing, where he was welcomed by a military band, an honor guard, hundreds of Chinese youth waving flags and China’s vice president, Han Zheng. Such carefully designed receptions for foreign leaders telegraph Beijing’s attitude toward these visits. … This time, they sent someone who is high-level but whose position is mostly that of a figurehead — which could be a way to send a layered message." tulis Steve Benen.
Di dalam negeri, kebijakan luar negeri terkait konflik Iran juga memicu keretakan di internal Partai Republik. Tiga senator Republik bergabung dengan Partai Demokrat dalam upaya membatasi keterlibatan militer, meskipun langkah tersebut akhirnya gagal mencapai target suara yang dibutuhkan.
"Republican divisions over the Iran war deepened on Wednesday as three GOP senators voted with Democrats to curtail the conflict, signaling greater headwinds for President Donald Trump as he seeks to stem economic impacts that have damaged the party’s political standing. While the Democratic-led measure failed, it was the closest a war powers vote came to advancing in the Senate in the seven attempts since the war began as GOP concerns slowly grow over the path forward." jelas laporan MS NOW.
Perubahan kepemimpinan juga merambah ke sektor keamanan dalam negeri dengan penunjukan David Venturella sebagai pimpinan baru Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Venturella, mantan eksekutif penjara swasta, akan mengawal agenda deportasi massal yang sedang dijalankan pemerintah saat ini.
"The Department of Homeland Security has selected David Venturella, a former private prison executive, to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency at the center of President Donald Trump’s controversial effort to detain and deport millions of undocumented immigrants. Venturella, who has served as a senior ICE adviser since February 2025, will be named acting director following the departure of Todd M. Lyons, DHS spokeswoman Lauren Bis said in a statement Tuesday." kata Lauren Bis, juru bicara DHS.
Penunjukan ini dilakukan di tengah pengawasan ketat terhadap kinerja lembaga tersebut dalam menghadapi proses hukum. Data menunjukkan bahwa pemerintah menghadapi ribuan tantangan hukum di pengadilan federal terkait operasi penahanan di berbagai kota besar.
"Ten thousand losses. That’s the Trump administration’s track record in court as federal judges grapple with the way ICE agents have swept through major U.S. cities and detained thousands of people in support of President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation agenda." ungkap laporan tersebut.
Sementara itu, upaya lintas partai di DPR AS berhasil mengumpulkan dukungan yang cukup untuk memaksa pemungutan suara terkait bantuan keamanan untuk Ukraina. Hal ini menandakan adanya perlawanan dari anggota dewan terhadap kendali agenda yang selama ini dipegang oleh pimpinan faksi Republik.
"A bipartisan effort to force a vote on legislation sending fresh American security aid to Ukraine has amassed the 218 signatures needed to force a floor vote, the latest in a series of instances of rank-and-file lawmakers wresting control of the chamber’s agenda from Republican leaders." tulis Steve Benen.
