flex their influence

This malaphor was found in the USA Today:

“But there are senators on both sides of the aisle who have taken issue with parts of the Biden-McCarthy deal who will want to flex their influence even as the country tiptoes to an unprecedented financial cliff.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/06/01/schumer-mcconnell-senate-debt-deal-what-to-know/70274076007/

This is a congruent conflation of “flex (one’s) muscles” and “use (one’s) influence”, both meaning to demonstrate one’s influence or strength. Kudos to Barry Eigen for spotting this one and sending it in.