Smoke-Filled Room

The term smoke-filled room refers to powerful political insiders and operatives gathering behind closed doors to formulating strategies and striking deals with each other.

The image is that of a group of powerful men sitting around a dimply-lit room in the middle of the night with a drink in one hand and a cigar in the other formulating nefarious plots among themselves to control political activity without the knowledge, input, or consent of the voters.