Composite 7.28 / 10, weighted per the Constitutional Weight Schedule.
✓ Clears the 700 bar, Author's Verdict: supported.
Clears the 700 support line at credit 724 (Sound band) with no severity flag, Author's Verdict: supported on the documented conduct.
No military service record. Garbarino's pre-congressional background is law (attorney) and the New York State Assembly (2013-2020). Service to country is honored as context only and never scored; this note is recorded for completeness, not as a deduction.
The 14 measures
Each measure is scored 0–10 against an anchored example, with a cited source. Hover/expand why? for the reasoning.
| # | Measure | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| M01 | Duty to Constitution & Rule of Law | 7 | why?Affirmatively declined to object to the 2020 electoral certification on Jan 6, 2021, grounding the
decision in the oath: Congress's role "is not to overturn the election" and it must accept and certify
the states' electors. He was sworn into the 117th Congress in January 2021 and therefore could not and
did not sign the December 2020 Texas v. Pennsylvania amicus. No documented process-subversion conduct.
Held below apex tier (no sustained constitutional stand forced at personal political cost), but the
certification posture is squarely oath-honoring. Imported raw m01=4 corrected: that floor reflected
contamination from process votes rather than documented conduct against the oath.
[source] |
| M02 | Party Over Country | 8 | why?Consistently top-tier bipartisan: Lugar/McCourt Bipartisan Index ~1.16 in 2023 and ~0.91 in the 117th
Congress, well above the chamber median. Member of the bipartisan Republican Governance Group; co-led
legislation and crossed the aisle on infrastructure and other measures. Country and institution placed
over reflexive denial of the other side a win.
[source] |
| M03 | Persons of Equal Worth | 7 | why?No documented pattern of casting opponents or constituents as enemies who do not belong. Public posture
is moderate and constituent-service oriented. Upper-middle on the persons-of-equal-worth axis with no
documented anti-belonging instance.
[source] |
| M04 | Weaponization of Justice | 8 | why?No documented weaponization of state power against rivals and no process-subversion conduct. Declined to
join the effort to overturn the certified election. As Homeland Security chair the record to date is
institutional oversight, not partisan deployment of the office against opponents. No criterion-class
conduct.
[source] |
| M05 | Incitement / Anti-Belonging | 7 | why?Career rhetorical restraint; no documented incitement, enemy-making, or dehumanizing-language pattern.
Measured, low-temperature public communication consistent with the Governance Group posture. Upper-middle.
[source] |
| M06 | Fiduciary Conduct | 7 | why?No ethics finding, sanction, or open investigation on record. The one weighed appearance-concern is
active individual-stock trading (STOCK Act PTRs, ~$225K in disclosed transactions 2021-2022) while
sitting on the Financial Services Committee, a transparency/optics drag, not a finding and not a
documented self-dealing breach. Disclosed and reported as required.
[source] |
| M07 | Duty to Call Out | 6 | why?Mixed on the own-side call-out duty. He condemned the Jan 6 attack and said the President bore "some
responsibility," supported the bipartisan Jan 6 commission, and voted to expel a fellow Republican
(Santos) saying he "exploited his position for personal gain", genuine accountability of his own side.
Against that, he declined to vote to impeach in Jan 2021 (citing process/deliberation rather than
defending the conduct). Net upper-middle. NOT scored on the impeachment vote itself (constitutional
process); scored on documented willingness to call out his own side, which is partial but real. Imported
raw m07=4 corrected upward to remove process-vote contamination.
[source] |
| M08 | The Discretion Test | 8 | why?No documented abuse of discretion or preferential self-treatment. Record shows willingness to cast
independent votes against party leadership on high-profile measures, indicating discretion exercised on
principle rather than for personal advantage.
[source] |
| M09 | The No-Camera Test | 7 | why?No documented public/private contempt gap; the moderate, institution-respecting public posture has no
contradicting off-camera record on file. Default upper-middle absent documented hypocrisy.
[source] |
| M10 | Constituent-vs-Donor Vote | 7 | why?Consistent constituent-service and district-aligned representation for NY-2 (Long Island), with
cross-aisle votes on infrastructure and SALT-relevant issues responsive to district interest. No
documented donor-capture displacing constituents. Upper-middle.
[source] |
| M11 | Net-Worth Trajectory | 8 | why?No documented office-attributable enrichment, no self-dealing, family-payment scheme, office-information
trading, or foreign-government revenue on record. Active individual-stock trading is a transparency/optics
concern (weighed at M06), not documented office-driven enrichment. Raw wealth and ordinary disclosed
holdings are NOT penalized here. Imported raw m11=6 corrected: the contamination guard requires scoring
only office-attributable enrichment, of which there is none documented.
[source] |
| M12 | Floor Decorum | 8 | why?Institutional decorum consistent with the Governance Group posture; voted "present" on a contested
censure rather than join a spectacle vote, and works through regular committee process. Respects the
office over the performance. Upper-middle.
[source] |
| M13 | Lying & Misleading | 7 | why?No documented sustained-falsehood pattern. Acknowledged the legitimacy of the 2020 result and the
states' certifications, and accurately characterized the Jan 6 attack. Imported raw m13=5 corrected
upward absent any documented dishonesty pattern.
[source] |
| M14 | Knowledge Depth | 7 | why?Demonstrated substantive command in his domains: cybersecurity and homeland-security policy (now
Homeland Security Committee chair), and financial-services regulatory detail (authored the SEC cyber-rule
resolution). Substance over talking points. Upper-middle.
[source] |
Why not higher, the points withheld
The standard is the seat; the ceiling is a perfect 10. Every withheld point traces to documented conduct, weighed where the measures and attributes say it belongs, shown openly here, the same way the earned points are.
| Where | Documented conduct | Mitigation weighed |
|---|---|---|
| M01 | No documented constitutional stand forced at personal political cost; oath-honoring certification posture but not apex-tier ↳ absence of forced-cost constitutional stand | Declined to object to 2020 certification on oath grounds; did not sign Texas v. PA |
| M06 | Active individual-stock trading (~$225K disclosed PTRs 2021-2022) while on Financial Services Committee ↳ Fiduciary appearance/transparency concern | Disclosed and reported as required; no ethics finding, sanction, or investigation |
| M07 | Declined to vote to impeach in Jan 2021, citing process/deliberation rather than defending the conduct ↳ partial own-side call-out | Condemned the attack, said President bore 'some responsibility,' backed the Jan 6 commission, voted to expel Santos |
| M10 | Ordinary range of party-aligned votes alongside cross-aisle district responsiveness ↳ constituent-alignment middle | Documented cross-aisle votes responsive to NY-2 interests |
The Four Pillars, worthy to be followed?
A separate axis from the 14 measures. The measures ask did their conduct meet the standard; the Pillars ask is this someone worthy to be elevated and followed at all. The two can diverge, when they do, the divergence is the finding.
| # | Pillar | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Trust & Loyalty
| 7 | why?Attributes: Steadiness, Loyalty to oath over party expedience, declined to join the effort to overturn the certified election and cast independent votes against leadership. No documented drag toward Self-Interest or Collapse; held at 7 by the absence of a forced-cost defining stand. |
| II | Aspiration & Integrity
| 7 | why?Attributes: Authenticity, Conviction, consistent moderate posture, accountable on the Santos expulsion. The active-stock-trading optics concern is a minor Integrity drag; no documented falsehood pattern. |
| III | Protection & Influence
| 7 | why?Attributes: Stewardship, Accountability, used committee power for oversight (cyber/homeland security) rather than partisan deployment. No Exploitation on record; constituent responsiveness is genuine. |
| IV | Legacy & Virtue
| 7 | why?Attributes: Integrity, institutional fidelity, a moderate, regular-order record in a polarized era. Drags are minor (trading optics; partial own-side accountability), tempering but not eroding a solid record. |
| TOTAL: Moderate | 28/40 |
Total 28/40, Solid. The pillars sit in honest upper-middle territory: a genuinely bipartisan, institution-respecting record without an extraordinary forced-cost moment to lift it higher.
What the Four Pillars are & the questions behind each →
In their own words
“The role of Congress is not to overturn the election or to take actions that silence the voters. The Constitution is clear that votes must be counted and certified by the states.”
Statement declining to object to the 2020 electoral certification · Office of Rep. Garbarino press release · CIVIC · cite
“There is significant evidence that he exploited his position for personal gain. He is undeserving of public office.”
On voting to expel fellow Republican George Santos · CNN / committee record · ACCOUNTABILITY · cite
“I fully condemn the domestic terrorists who stormed the Capitol, and I believe the President bears some responsibility.”
Statement on the House impeachment vote · Office of Rep. Garbarino press release · PRINCIPLED · cite
Full personnel file
1. Identity
Andrew Robert Garbarino (born September 27, 1984). U.S. Representative for New York's 2nd congressional district (Long Island) since January 2021. Republican. Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security; also serves on Financial Services and Ethics. Previously a member of the New York State Assembly (2013-2020) and an attorney. Member of the bipartisan Republican Governance Group.
2. Voting / Legislative Profile
Lugar/McCourt Bipartisan Index consistently above median, ~1.16 (2023) and ~0.91 (117th Congress), reflecting frequent cross-aisle work. Member of the moderate Republican Governance Group; broke with party on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and other high-profile measures. Authored the Financial Services Committee resolution to roll back the SEC cyber-incident disclosure rule. Policy positions are not scored here in either direction, per the framework.
3. Constitutional Moments
Jan 6, 2021: sworn into the 117th Congress that month; declined to object to the 2020 electoral certification, framing the decision in oath and separation-of-powers terms. Did not sign (and could not have signed) the December 2020 Texas v. Pennsylvania amicus, which predated his service. Supported the bipartisan commission to investigate Jan 6. Voted to expel Rep. George Santos. Declined to vote to impeach in January 2021, citing process and deliberation concerns, recorded as process/institutional conduct, not scored on policy merits.
4. Rhetoric & Discourse Profile
Low-temperature, constituent-service-oriented public communication consistent with the Governance Group posture. No documented incitement, enemy-making, or dehumanizing-language pattern. The high-mark anchor is the oath-grounded certification statement; no documented rhetorical drag on file.
5. Fiduciary Profile
No ethics finding, sanction, or open investigation on record. The weighed appearance-concern is active individual-stock trading (STOCK Act periodic transaction reports, ~$225K in disclosed transactions 2021-2022) while sitting on the Financial Services Committee, a transparency/optics drag, disclosed and reported as required, not a documented self-dealing breach. No office-attributable enrichment, family-payment scheme, office-information trading, or foreign-government revenue on record. Ordinary disclosed holdings and raw wealth are not penalized.
6. Severity-Class Conduct
No documented Severity-class conduct under any of the eight criteria. He did not sign the Texas v. Pennsylvania amicus (sworn after it was filed), declined to object to the 2020 certification, and has no documented incitement or enemy-making pattern. Flag count: zero.
7. What The Framework Says
Garbarino presents a solid, honest-middle record: a genuinely bipartisan, institution-respecting member who declined to join the effort to overturn a certified election, supported the Jan 6 commission, and held a fellow partisan accountable on the Santos expulsion. The standard records the honest drags, the absence of a forced-cost defining constitutional stand, the active-stock-trading transparency concern, and the process-grounded decision not to impeach in 2021. The imported raw scores (m01=4, m07=4, m11=6) were corrected to remove contamination from constitutional-process votes and from non-office-attributable wealth. No capping flags. Adequate-to-Sound territory on conduct.
8. Sources & Where To Look Deeper
Tier 1 (primary): Congress.gov member profile · House Financial Disclosures (Clerk) · Office of Rep. Garbarino, Jan 6 certification statement
Tier 2: Lugar/McCourt Bipartisan Index · Ballotpedia · GovTrack
Research links: Congress.gov member profile · Ballotpedia · House Financial Disclosures (Clerk) · GovTrack · Wikipedia
Scores derive from the fixed Constitutional Weight Schedule. The bar does not move. Conduct, not party.