John Bull Rasputin Svengali Uncle Sam VIP Washington Whitehall access bad influence big wheel bureaucracy court directorate eminence grise five-percenter friend at court good influence gray eminence heavyweight hidden hand hierarchy higher echelons higher-ups holdover incumbent influence influence peddler influencer ingroup ins jack-in-office key kingmaker lame duck lobby lobbyist lords of creation man of influence management manipulator ministry new broom office-bearer officeholder officialdom open sesame prelacy president-elect pressure group public official public servant ruling class ruling classes sinister influence special interests special-interest group the Crown the Establishment the administration the authorities the government the ingroup the interests the people upstairs the power elite the power structure the top them they top brass very important person wheeler-dealer wire-puller