Composite 6.22 / 10, weighted per the Constitutional Weight Schedule.
Below the 700 bar, Author's Verdict: not supported.
Lands in the Adequate band at credit 644, below the 700 support line, Author's Verdict: not supported. (See section 7 for the full reasoning.)
- No military service on record
No military service record. Pre-congressional public service includes chairing Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (2008-2014). Listed for completeness; not scored.
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 | 5 | why?On January 6, 2021 Graves voted to sustain objections to the Pennsylvania (and Arizona) electoral count. Per the framework, the certification VOTE itself is the constitutional process operating and is NOT scored as a contamination input or as process-subversion (Criterion 8). Crucially, he did NOT sign the Texas v. Pennsylvania amicus brief, verified against the 126-signatory list, where the only 'Graves' is Sam Graves of Missouri. The objection is weighed only as a documented appearance-concern about oath-fidelity, not a finding; held at the middle. No litigation effort to overturn a certified result. [source] |
| M02 | Party Over Country | 7 | why?Demonstrated willingness to legislate across the aisle at cost to his own standing: lead Republican negotiator on the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (passed House 314-117), and a cross-aisle discharge petition with retiring Democrat Abigail Spanberger to force the Social Security Fairness Act to the floor, a move that antagonized his own Conference leadership. Country/institution placed over denying the other side a win. [source] |
| M03 | Persons of Equal Worth | 6 | why?No documented pattern of casting opponents or constituents as enemies who do not belong. Heated partisan exchanges during the debt-ceiling fight are policy heat, not anti-belonging conduct. Upper-middle on absence of evidence rather than an affirmative high-mark anchor. [source] |
| M04 | Weaponization of Justice | 7 | why?No documented weaponization of state power against rivals or critics. The redistricting that dismantled his district was done TO him (rivalry with Gov. Jeff Landry), not misconduct by him. No criterion-class conduct on this measure. [source] |
| M05 | Incitement / Anti-Belonging | 6 | why?Generally substantive, policy-focused public rhetoric across a decade; functioned as a negotiator's voice in the 2023 debt talks. No documented sustained inflammatory or dehumanizing pattern. Middle-to-upper on a clean but unremarkable record. [source] |
| M06 | Fiduciary Conduct | 6 | why?No ethics sanction, no documented appearance-of-impropriety findings, and no affirmative self-accountability events on record either. Held at a clean middle: no fiduciary breach, but no demonstrated voluntary accountability to credit upward. [source] |
| M07 | Duty to Call Out | 6 | why?Active-duty standard is calling out one's OWN side at cost. Graves cleared this partially: the debt deal and the Spanberger discharge petition antagonized his own Conference leadership and drew Freedom Caucus ire, accepting intra-party cost for an institutional outcome. Not a sustained pattern of public correction of his own side, so upper-middle rather than high. [source] |
| M08 | The Discretion Test | 6 | why?No documented instance of seizing personal/political advantage where discretion allowed restraint, nor a purest-form sacrifice of self-interest. Taking on the thankless lead-negotiator role at leadership's request weighs mildly positive. Clean middle. [source] |
| M09 | The No-Camera Test | 6 | why?No documented private/public contempt gap or off-camera conduct contradicting his public posture. Reputation as a detail-driven negotiator is consistent across reporting. Middle on absence of contrary evidence. [source] |
| M10 | Constituent-vs-Donor Vote | 6 | why?Sustained focus on Louisiana coastal restoration, flood, energy, and infrastructure aligns with documented district interests. No evidence of donor-over-constituent capture. Middle-to-upper on constituent alignment. [source] |
| M11 | Net-Worth Trajectory | 7 | why?Scores ONLY office-attributable enrichment. No documented self-dealing, family payments, office-information trades, STOCK Act findings, or foreign-government revenue. Raw wealth and party alignment are excluded by rule. Clean, held at 7 absent affirmatively exemplary stewardship evidence. [source] |
| M12 | Floor Decorum | 7 | why?Worked through institutional process, regular-order negotiation on the debt-ceiling deal and a constitutionally-provided discharge petition, rather than spectacle. Honored the machinery of the House over performative obstruction. Upper-middle. [source] |
| M13 | Lying & Misleading | 6 | why?No documented sustained-falsehood pattern attributable to Graves. The Jan-6 certification objection echoed contested 2020 claims but did not, on the record, include a personal campaign of documented falsehoods. Middle on a clean-but-unremarkable record. [source] |
| M14 | Knowledge Depth | 7 | why?Demonstrated substantive command of fiscal, infrastructure, aviation, and coastal/energy policy, chosen as lead GOP debt-ceiling negotiator for that command, and prior chair of Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. Substance over talking points. [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 | Voted on 2021-01-06 to sustain objections to the Pennsylvania (and Arizona) electoral count ↳ oath-fidelity appearance-concern | The certification vote is the constitutional process operating, NOT scored as Criterion-8 process-subversion; did NOT sign the Texas v. PA amicus brief (verified absent from 126-signatory list); weighed as appearance, not a finding |
| M07 | Cleared the own-side call-out duty only partially, antagonized leadership on the debt deal and Spanberger petition but no sustained public-correction pattern ↳ active call-out duty partially met | - |
| M06 | No affirmative voluntary-accountability events on record to credit upward ↳ Fiduciary, clean but no demonstrated self-accountability | - |
| M03/M05/M13 | Upper-middle scores rest on absence of adverse evidence rather than affirmative high-mark anchors ↳ clean-but-unremarkable conduct record | - |
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
| 6 | why?Attributes: Steadiness Under Pressure and Selfless Service shown in taking the thankless lead-negotiator role and accepting intra-party cost on the Spanberger petition. Drag toward Self-Interest is the Jan-6 certification objection, weighed as appearance. Net solid-middle. |
| II | Aspiration & Integrity
| 6 | why?Attributes: Conviction and Authenticity as a detail-driven legislator. Held at middle by the absence of documented Self-Reflection/Teachability events (no affirmative accountability moments on record) rather than by any documented integrity breach. |
| III | Protection & Influence
| 7 | why?Attributes: Protection, Stewardship, Courage in Conflict, used institutional process (regular-order debt negotiation, discharge petition) to deliver outcomes, and a decade of coastal/flood protection work for his district. No drag toward Exploitation. Upper-middle. |
| IV | Legacy & Virtue
| 6 | why?Attributes: Integrity and a workmanlike institutional legacy as a negotiator. The Jan-6 objection is a real asterisk toward Favoritism that tempers the legacy; the bipartisan debt deal and Social Security petition pull the other way. Net middle. |
| TOTAL: Moderate | 25/40 |
Total 25/40, Adequate. A clean, competent, institution-respecting record whose ceiling is set by the Jan-6 certification objection (weighed as appearance, not capping) and by the absence of affirmative high-mark accountability or oath-defense anchors.
What the Four Pillars are & the questions behind each →
In their own words
“McCarthy's speakership is absolutely safe.”
As lead GOP debt-ceiling negotiator, defending the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act against Freedom Caucus blowback · The Hill · CIVIC · cite
“We negotiated in good faith and produced a deal that moves the country in the right direction.”
On the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, passed 314-117 · NPR coverage of the debt-ceiling deal · PRINCIPLED · cite
Full personnel file
1. Identity
Garret Neal Graves (born 1972). U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 6th congressional district 2015-2025 (R). Declined to seek re-election in 2024 after court-ordered redistricting dismantled his district. Prior service: chair of Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (2008-2014). As of 2026, a Fellow at the USC Center for the Political Future. No military service. Recently-departed member of the House, in scope for the Congress cohort.
2. Voting / Legislative Profile
Committees: Transportation & Infrastructure (chair, Aviation Subcommittee) and Natural Resources, with signature work on coastal restoration, flood, energy, and infrastructure. Lead Republican negotiator on the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (the debt-ceiling deal, House 314-117). Partnered with retiring Democrat Abigail Spanberger on a discharge petition to force the Social Security Fairness Act to the floor, over his own Conference leadership's objection. Policy positions are noted for context only and are NOT scored in either direction, per the framework's refusal to grade contested policy.
3. Constitutional Moments
January 6, 2021: voted to sustain objections to the Pennsylvania (and Arizona) electoral count. Under the framework this certification VOTE is the constitutional process operating and is NOT scored as Criterion-8 process-subversion, and it is excluded from M01/M07/M11 contamination; it is weighed only as a documented appearance-concern about oath-fidelity. Verified that Graves did NOT sign the Texas v. Pennsylvania amicus brief, the only 'Graves' among the 126 House signatories is Sam Graves of Missouri. No litigation effort to overturn a certified result; no fake-elector involvement on record.
4. Rhetoric & Discourse Profile
Substantive, policy-and-process-focused public voice across a decade, functioned as the GOP's detail-driven negotiator's voice in the 2023 debt-ceiling fight. No documented sustained pattern of inflammatory, dehumanizing, or enemy-making rhetoric. Heated partisan exchanges read as policy heat, which the standard does not penalize.
5. Fiduciary Profile
No documented office-attributable enrichment: no self-dealing, family-payment, office-information-trade, STOCK Act, or foreign-government-revenue findings on record. No ethics sanction. No affirmative voluntary-accountability events on record to credit upward either. A clean fiduciary record held at a competent middle.
6. Severity-Class Conduct
No documented Severity-class conduct under any of the eight criteria. The Jan-6 certification objection was examined specifically against Criterion 8 (process subversion): it is a bare floor objection, NOT a Texas v. PA amicus signature (verified absent), NOT a fake-elector or post-certification overturning effort, and therefore does NOT meet the capping threshold. No documented enemy-making/incitement pattern (Criterion 10). Flag count: zero.
7. What The Framework Says
An honest middle. Graves presents a competent, institution-respecting record: a decade of substantive infrastructure and coastal work, the bipartisan 2023 debt-ceiling deal led at intra-party cost, and a cross-aisle Social Security discharge petition that defied his own leadership. The ceiling is set by the January 6, 2021 certification objection, weighed honestly as an appearance-concern about oath-fidelity, but NOT as process-subversion, since he did not sign the Texas amicus and mounted no effort to overturn a certified result, and by the absence of affirmative high-mark anchors (no documented self-accountability or oath-defense moment). Adequate: clean, capable, unremarkable.
8. Sources & Where To Look Deeper
Tier 1 (primary): Congress.gov (member + roll calls) · House financial disclosures
Tier 2: Lugar/McCourt Bipartisan Index 118th · Texas v. PA 126-signatory amicus (cross-check; Graves absent)
Research links: Congress.gov member profile · Ballotpedia · GovTrack · OpenSecrets · Wikipedia
Scores derive from the fixed Constitutional Weight Schedule. The bar does not move. Conduct, not party.