grease wheels

“Remember the infamous ‘Bridge to Nowhere?’” read the opening line of Alan Rappeport’s Jan. 11 story in the New York Times, which had the headline of “To Grease Wheels of Congress, Trump Suggests Bringing Back Pork.”

Small gold bars, typically used to grease wheels, saw the greatest decline.

Instead, the obsession is about the things money can do: open doors, grease wheels, make friends, cushion blows...and win elections.