Drain the swamp

Drain the swamp is a phrase which has frequently been used by politicians since the 1980s and in the U.S. often refers to reducing the influence of special interests and lobbyists. The phrase can allude to the physical draining of swamps which is conducted to keep mosquito populations low in order to combat malaria,^[1] prevalent during the time in Washington, D.C., on supposed swampy grounds.^[2]