The Slatest for Oct. 4: So McCarthy’s Out. Who’s Next?

Kevin McCarthy’s ouster as speaker of the House was quick and chaotic—but it had been a long time coming. Ben Jacobs dissects the devil’s bargain McCarthy made, and what it means for whoever takes up the speaker’s gavel next.

This might leave you with questions! Like: Who will be the next speaker, and who is in charge in the meantime?

Ben Mathis-Lilley takes a look at the contenders in the upcoming speakers race, and the mess they’re going to inherit.

And Shirin Ali gives us a quick introduction to the interim speaker, Patrick McHenry, who was quick to boot Nancy Pelosi out of her office space.

Yes, that’s right …

And Luke Winkie, for one, is loving every salty moment. (Admit it, the pettiness is kind of entertaining).

A bold challenge to Chinese aggression in the contested South China Sea seems to have been … successful? Fred Kaplan examines what it could mean.

The first day of the FTX trial brought “a hodgepodge of crypto influencers, obsessives, skeptics, and more” to court, Nitish Pahwa writes. It gave us a preview of the media circus to come—and clues about who will testify against Sam Bankman-Fried. (Stay tuned for more dispatches from the trial!)

Plus: In case you need a refresher, Heather Tal Murphy walks us through what exactly Bankman-Fried has been charged with.

The Supreme Court’s liberals are already fed up with this term! Jay Willis explains why, and what it means for the months ahead.

And LaDoris Hazzard Cordell breaks down how the court’s right flank is trying to dismantle the rights of criminal defendants.

Trump is under a gag order now regarding his New York fraud case. Can’t take him anywhere!

Norman L. Eisen examines how the case strikes a powerful blow to Trump where it hurts him most.

The feds are going after Amazon and Google’s power—in part for making the web a worse place to be for all the rest of us. Scott Nover takes a look at the larger sickness behind these two seismic antitrust cases.

… because that’s about as nonsensical as the workings of FTX’s balance sheet.

Thanks so much for reading, and we’ll see you tomorrow.