the.com/rubber stamping
Approval theater: the decision was made, this is just the sound effect.
means Giving official sign-off to something without real scrutiny, because the outcome was already decided.
from From the literal rubber stamp, invented in the 1860s to speed up office paperwork by letting clerks imprint signatures and approvals instantly instead of writing them out by hand.
literal objectfirst patented in england, 1866
corporate slangboards accused of it since the 1950s
legislaturesparliaments called rubber stamps under autocrats
ironythe stamp itself requires zero judgment to use
for instance
soviet supreme soviet — approved nearly every proposal unanimously for decades
corporate boards — often criticized for approving ceo pay without pushback
hoa approvals — routine renovation requests passed with no real review