Final answer:
The practice of legislators voting for unrelated laws to gain mutual support for their own agendas is called logrolling, which often leads to pork barrel spending and can prioritize political expediency over national interest.
Step-by-step explanation:
Best characterized as logrolling:
The scenario described is best characterized as logrolling, a common practice in legislative bodies like the U.S. Congress. Logrolling refers to the situation where legislators agree to vote for a package of otherwise unrelated laws that they individually favor in order to gain mutual support for their respective legislative priorities. It often leads to situations where bills that benefit a specific group of legislators' constituents are passed, even when there is no clear majority favoring each component of the bill on its own.
This process can lead to increased pork barrel spending, as legislators may add projects that benefit their own districts to secure the necessary votes for a bill's passage. While logrolling can be an effective tool for legislators to get laws passed that they personally support, it can also result in legislation that is more about political expediency than sound policy decisions, often disregarding the broader national interest.