the.com/lame duck

means An official or leader who still holds a position but has lost effective power or influence, usually because their successor has already been chosen or their departure date is set.

from Born in 18th-century London stock market slang, where a 'lame duck' was a broker who couldn't pay his debts — a bird too crippled to keep up with the flock. The phrase waddled into American politics in the 1800s, applied to officeholders defeated or term-limited but still serving out the clock, hobbling along in office while real power had already flown to someone else.