Composite 6.62 / 10, weighted per the Constitutional Weight Schedule.
Below the 700 bar, Author's Verdict: not supported.
Lands in the Sound band at credit 678, below the 700 support line, Author's Verdict: not supported. (See section 7 for the full reasoning.)
No military service record. Civilian career: Snohomish County Council (1998-2000) before election to Congress in 2000. Service to country is honored as context elsewhere when present; absence is not a penalty.
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?No documented use of legal-on-its-face power to defeat a constitutional purpose. Seated continuously since 2001; did NOT sign the Texas v. Pennsylvania amicus (a Republican-only filing) and voted to certify the 2020 electoral count rather than object, the constitutional process working, which is NOT scored against him. No criterion-8 process-subversion conduct on record. Held at upper-middle rather than higher absent an affirmative, at-personal-cost constitutional stand of the McCain caliber. [source] |
| M02 | Party Over Country | 4 | why?Conduct measure of whether opponents are afforded legitimate wins. The Lugar/McCourt Bipartisan Index places him BELOW the historical average in both recent Congresses, with a notable decline (202nd to 323rd). This is scored as a documented below-average reach-across-the-aisle pattern, NOT as a partisan or caucus penalty, which the framework forbids. Offset partially by genuine bipartisan committee products (BUILD America 250 with Chairman Graves, ALERT Act), but the index pattern holds it below the midline. [source] |
| M03 | Persons of Equal Worth | 8 | why?No documented anti-belonging rhetoric, no instance of casting constituents or opponents as people who do not belong. A long, low-drama public record; persons-of-equal-worth posture intact. No documented high-mark cross-the-aisle defense-of-an-opponent moment to push it to the apex tier. [source] |
| M04 | Weaponization of Justice | 8 | why?No documented weaponization of state power against rivals; no criterion-8 conduct. As a long-tenured member and committee ranking member, no record of using process to defeat appointments or run out clocks against constitutional purpose. Clean. [source] |
| M05 | Incitement / Anti-Belonging | 7 | why?Measured, policy-focused rhetorical record; committee statements emphasize bipartisan products over enemy-framing. No documented sustained incitement or enemy-making pattern. Upper-middle: restraint present, no signature high-mark civic-rhetoric moment to elevate further. [source] |
| M06 | Fiduciary Conduct | 6 | why?One genuine fiduciary appearance-concern: late periodic-transaction reporting of up to ~$420,000 in IRA trades (the STOCK Act timing requirement). Weighed as an appearance-concern, NOT a finding, the trades were advisor-managed under a contract barring him from individual selection, he filed the required report on Committee guidance, and no formal violation determination is recorded. Real drag, materially mitigated. [source] |
| M07 | Duty to Call Out | 5 | why?Active-duty standard is calling out one's OWN side at cost. No documented instance of Larsen breaking from his caucus on principle at personal cost, nor a documented failure to do so when required. As partisan ranking member the record is institutional-cooperative rather than dissenting. Honest middle absent evidence either way. [source] |
| M08 | The Discretion Test | 7 | why?Discretion test, conduct when no one compels the right choice. No documented abuse of discretionary authority; the STOCK Act episode is captured under M06/M11. Solid but no purest-form documented discretion sacrifice to elevate. [source] |
| M09 | The No-Camera Test | 7 | why?No documented private/public contempt gap; off-camera reputation consistent with a steady, low-controversy public posture across a long tenure. No evidence of a two-faced pattern. [source] |
| M10 | Constituent-vs-Donor Vote | 7 | why?Long-tenured representation of WA-02 with sustained constituent-service and infrastructure delivery (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, FAA reauthorization). No documented donor-over-constituent capture. Solid upper-middle. [source] |
| M11 | Net-Worth Trajectory | 7 | why?M11 scores ONLY office-attributable enrichment (self-dealing, family payments, office-info trades, foreign-gov revenue), NOT raw wealth. The disclosed trades (defense, semiconductor, pharma, transportation names) are advisor-managed in an IRA under a contract barring his individual selection or direction; no documented office-information trading or self-dealing. The late filing is an appearance/process concern (captured at M06), not an enrichment finding. Held at upper-middle for the appearance, not penalized as a breach. [source] |
| M12 | Floor Decorum | 7 | why?Sustained regular-order institutional decorum as Transportation & Infrastructure ranking member; hearing and floor posture emphasizes process and bipartisan product over spectacle. Honors the institution; no documented decorum breaches. [source] |
| M13 | Lying & Misleading | 7 | why?No documented sustained-falsehood pattern; public record is policy-substantive rather than disinformation-driven. No standout truth-telling-at-cost moment to elevate. Solid. [source] |
| M14 | Knowledge Depth | 8 | why?Deep substantive command of transportation, infrastructure, aviation, and maritime policy across a long committee tenure, FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, Water Resources Development Act, pipeline safety, Coast Guard authorization, BUILD America 250 reauthorization (advanced 62-2). 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 |
|---|---|---|
| M02 | Lugar/McCourt Bipartisan Index below the historical average in both recent Congresses (#202 / -0.438 in the 117th; #323 / -0.972 in the 118th), with a notable decline ↳ below-average reach-across-the-aisle pattern (conduct, not partisanship) | Genuine bipartisan committee products with Chairman Graves (BUILD America 250, ALERT Act) partially offset |
| M06 | Late periodic-transaction reporting of up to ~$420,000 in IRA trades under the STOCK Act timing rule (reported 2022) ↳ Fiduciary appearance-of-impropriety (timing) | Advisor-managed under contract barring his individual selection; filed required report on Committee guidance; no formal violation determination recorded |
| M07 | No documented instance of breaking from his own caucus on principle at personal cost ↳ active-duty call-out standard unmet on record | No documented failure-to-act either; honest-middle absent evidence |
| M11 | Disclosed individual-company holdings (defense, semiconductor, pharma, transportation) in an IRA ↳ appearance concern only, overlap of holdings with policy jurisdiction | Advisor-managed, no individual selection/direction, no documented office-information trading or self-dealing; NOT scored as enrichment breach |
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, Reliability, Selfless Service. A long, dependable tenure of constituent service and committee work; no documented Collapse or Self-Interest breach. Held at 7, steady rather than extraordinary, no signature courage-at-cost evidence. |
| II | Aspiration & Integrity
| 6 | why?Attributes: Conviction, Authenticity. Substantive policy command. Held lower by the STOCK Act late-disclosure (a Consistency/Temperance drag on the brand of careful compliance) and the below-average bipartisan-index trend; mitigated by working with Committee staff to come into compliance and by genuine cross-aisle committee products. |
| III | Protection & Influence
| 7 | why?Attributes: Protection, Stewardship, Accountability. Used committee power to deliver infrastructure and safety legislation for constituents and the country; no Exploitation. The holdings-overlap appearance is a minor Stewardship note, not an abuse. |
| IV | Legacy & Virtue
| 7 | why?Attributes: Integrity, Justice. A durable institutional-fidelity record, certified the 2020 election, regular-order committee posture, no enemy-making pattern. The STOCK Act asterisk is a real but limited drag on an otherwise clean legacy. |
| TOTAL: Moderate | 27/40 |
Total 27/40, Adequate-to-Sound. The pillars hold at a steady upper-middle: a dependable institutionalist record with one genuine fiduciary appearance-concern and a below-average bipartisan-reach trend, against no documented criterion-class conduct.
What the Four Pillars are & the questions behind each →
In their own words
“This is a bipartisan bill that reflects the priorities of members on both sides of the aisle.”
Surface transportation reauthorization (BUILD America 250 Act) advancing out of the T&I Committee 62-2 with Chairman Sam Graves · Roll Call / House T&I Committee · CIVIC · cite
“Larsen worked with Committee staff to file the required periodic transaction report to come into compliance with the STOCK Act.”
House Ethics financial-disclosure compliance after updated guidance on advisor-managed IRA trades · Raw Story / Alternet investigation · ACCOUNTABILITY · cite
Full personnel file
1. Identity
Richard Ray "Rick" Larsen (born June 15, 1965). U.S. Representative for Washington's 2nd Congressional District since January 3, 2001. Democrat. Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Previously served on the Snohomish County Council (1998-2000). Next up for reelection in the August 4, 2026 primary and November 3, 2026 general.
2. Voting / Legislative Profile
Lugar/McCourt Bipartisan Index below the historical average in both recent Congresses (#202 / -0.438 in the 117th; #323 / -0.972 in the 118th). Senior member and Democratic leader on the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. Signature substantive work: FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, Water Resources Development Act, pipeline safety, Coast Guard authorization, and the bipartisan BUILD America 250 surface-transportation reauthorization advanced 62-2 with Chairman Sam Graves. Policy positions are NOT scored in either direction per the framework's refusal to grade contested policy.
3. Constitutional Moments
Voted to certify the 2020 electoral count rather than join objections, the constitutional process working, recorded as institutional conduct and NOT scored against him. Not a signatory to the Texas v. Pennsylvania amicus (a Republican-only December 2020 filing). No documented criterion-8 process-subversion conduct across a 25-year tenure.
4. Rhetoric & Discourse Profile
Measured, policy-focused public record across a long tenure. No documented anti-belonging rhetoric, no sustained enemy-making or incitement pattern, and no documented private/public contempt gap. Committee statements emphasize bipartisan products over confrontation. No signature high-mark civic-rhetoric moment to elevate above upper-middle.
5. Fiduciary Profile
One genuine fiduciary appearance-concern: late periodic-transaction reporting of up to ~$420,000 in IRA trades under the STOCK Act timing rule (reported 2022). The trades were advisor-managed under a contract barring his individual selection or direction; he filed the required report on House Committee guidance, and no formal violation determination is recorded. Weighed as an appearance/timing concern, not an enrichment finding, no documented office-information trading or self-dealing. M11 scores office-attributable enrichment only; raw wealth and party are not penalized.
6. Severity-Class Conduct
No documented Severity-class conduct under any of the eight criteria. Not a Texas v. PA amicus signatory; certified the 2020 election; no documented enemy-making or incitement pattern. The STOCK Act late-disclosure is a fiduciary appearance-concern, not a criterion-class flag. Flag count: zero.
7. What The Framework Says
Larsen presents as a steady, long-tenured institutionalist with a substantive infrastructure record and no documented criterion-class conduct. The honest drags are real but limited: a Lugar/McCourt Bipartisan Index below the historical average with a recent decline, and one STOCK Act late-disclosure appearance-concern that is materially mitigated by advisor-managed, no-individual-selection facts and prompt compliance. Conduct-only, he lands in the upper-middle, Adequate-to-Sound, neither elevated by a signature at-cost constitutional stand nor dragged by any process-subversion or enrichment finding.
8. Sources & Where To Look Deeper
Tier 1 (primary): Congress.gov member profile · House Committee on Ethics, financial disclosure
Tier 2: Ballotpedia · Lugar/McCourt Bipartisan Index · Raw Story / Alternet STOCK Act investigation
Research links: Congress.gov member profile · Ballotpedia · House office · GovTrack · Lugar/McCourt Bipartisan Index
Scores derive from the fixed Constitutional Weight Schedule. The bar does not move. Conduct, not party.