Composite 6.84 / 10, weighted per the Constitutional Weight Schedule.
Below the 700 bar, Author's Verdict: not supported.
A clean conduct record with affirmative transparency leadership. No ethics findings, no STOCK Act violation, no documented criterion-class conduct. The 2025-2026 co-founding of the End Corruption Caucus and sustained advocacy for a congressional stock-trading ban, a self-binding reform that cuts against the incumbent's own interest, are real fiduciary positives. The record is honest middle-to-upper: solid institutional conduct, moderate (not top-tier) bipartisan output, no extraordinary at-cost stand of the McCain class. Clears the bar.
No military service on record. Mike Levin is an environmental attorney by background. Service to country is honored where present as context, not as a score; its absence is not penalized.
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?Oath-fidelity conduct is sound. Grounded his impeachment and 25th-Amendment positions in the Constitution and oath language rather than partisan framing. NOTE: the impeachment/certification VOTES themselves are the constitutional process working and are NOT scored here as merit; the score reflects only that he framed his constitutional role in oath terms and shows no process-subversion conduct. No criterion-8 flag, a Democrat seated in 2019, he could not and did not sign the Texas v. Pennsylvania amicus. Held at upper-middle: principled framing, but no extraordinary at-cost constitutional stand on record. [source] |
| M02 | Party Over Country | 7 | why?Solid cross-aisle output: ~19-30 bipartisan bills signed into law under presidents of both parties since 2019, working through the Appropriations process. Co-launched the End Corruption Caucus with both progressive and centrist members. Genuine reach across the aisle on substantive items, though not consistently top-quartile on the Lugar Index. Upper-middle. [source] |
| M03 | Persons of Equal Worth | 7 | why?No documented anti-belonging pattern toward opponents or citizens. Sustained constituent engagement (121+ town halls), including hostile questioners, with no record of casting opponents as enemies who do not belong. No criterion-10 conduct. Upper-middle for accessibility paired with absence of contempt-rhetoric. [source] |
| M04 | Weaponization of Justice | 7 | why?No documented weaponization of state power against rivals; no criterion-8 process-subversion conduct (no Texas v. PA amicus, no fake-electors involvement, seated 2019 as a Democrat). Clean on abuse-of-power conduct. No criterion-class flag. [source] |
| M05 | Incitement / Anti-Belonging | 7 | why?Career rhetoric is policy-focused and restrained; criticism of the administration is framed around 'illegal actions' and accountability rather than dehumanizing opponents. No documented sustained enemy-making. Heated policy language (e.g., on ICE accountability) is policy heat, expressly NOT scored. Upper-middle. [source] |
| M06 | Fiduciary Conduct | 7 | why?No ethics complaint finding, no sanction, no STOCK Act violation surfaced. A town-hall allegation that he 'takes PAC money' (which he disputed) is an unadjudicated appearance-concern, weighed lightly, not a finding. Affirmatively pushed self-binding ethics reform (stock-trading ban). Upper-middle. [source] |
| M07 | Duty to Call Out | 6 | why?The active-duty standard is calling out one's OWN side at cost. Levin pushed transparency demands that apply across the chamber and co-founded an anti-corruption caucus targeting self-dealing generally, which has some own-side reach. But the documented record is weighted toward calling out the opposing administration; limited evidence of costly calling-out of his own party specifically. Honest middle. [source] |
| M08 | The Discretion Test | 6 | why?No discretion-test moment of the rare, at-cost class on record (no documented sacrifice of political standing purely for principle). Conduct is steady and clean but unremarkable on this axis. Middle. [source] |
| M09 | The No-Camera Test | 7 | why?No documented gap between on-camera posture and off-camera conduct; the accessible, town-hall-heavy public profile is not contradicted by any reported private-contempt record. Upper-middle on absence of hypocrisy evidence. [source] |
| M10 | Constituent-vs-Donor Vote | 6 | why?Strong constituent-engagement infrastructure (121+ town halls, Appropriations seats benefiting the district incl. MilCon-VA). No documented donor-over-constituent capture, though an unproven town-hall PAC allegation exists. Honest middle-to-upper; no extraordinary independence from interest pressure demonstrated either way. [source] |
| M11 | Net-Worth Trajectory | 8 | why?Scores ONLY office-attributable enrichment, none documented (no self-dealing, family payments, office-info trades, or foreign-gov revenue on record). Affirmatively co-led the End Corruption Caucus and championed a ban on member stock trading and extension of ethics rules to spouses/dependents, reform that constrains his own future enrichment. Raw wealth is expressly NOT scored. High on this axis. [source] |
| M12 | Floor Decorum | 7 | why?Sustained institutional decorum across four terms; regular-order legislative posture through Appropriations; no documented stunts or norm-breaking spectacle. Honors the institution. Upper-middle. [source] |
| M13 | Lying & Misleading | 6 | why?No sustained documented-falsehood pattern on record. Statements are policy-framed and generally sourced to administration actions; no fact-check-grade pattern of fabrication surfaced. Honest middle in absence of either a falsehood pattern or a standout truth-telling-at-cost record. [source] |
| M14 | Knowledge Depth | 7 | why?Substantive command in his lane, Appropriations member on Energy & Water and Military Construction/VA subcommittees; ~19-30 bipartisan bills enacted indicates working knowledge of legislative mechanics 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 |
|---|---|---|
| M07 | Documented record weighted toward calling out the opposing administration; limited evidence of costly own-side calling-out ↳ active-duty standard, own-side accountability at cost | End Corruption Caucus and chamber-wide transparency demands have some cross-party reach |
| M08 | No rare, at-cost discretion-test moment on record ↳ Discretion Test, sacrifice for principle | Steady, clean conduct; no negative discretion event either |
| M06 | Town-hall allegation that he accepts PAC money (disputed by him); no ethics finding ↳ Fiduciary appearance-concern | Unadjudicated and denied, weighed as appearance only, not a finding; offset by affirmative ethics-reform leadership |
| M13 | No standout truth-telling-at-cost record to lift above the middle ↳ Love of Truth, affirmative demonstration | No falsehood pattern on record either |
| Pillar III | No extraordinary at-cost protection-of-others or own-side accountability event (Courage in Conflict) ↳ Courage-in-Conflict drag | Genuine Stewardship via stock-ban/ethics-reform advocacy |
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, Selfless Service, Accountability, four terms of consistent, accessible service (121+ town halls) with no loyalty-to-self breach on record. Held at 7 by the absence of an extraordinary at-cost loyalty event of the highest class. |
| II | Aspiration & Integrity
| 7 | why?Attributes: Conviction, Authenticity, consistent issue commitments (anti-corruption, environment) and a clean integrity record. No documented self-dealing. Held below 8 by limited evidence of teachable self-correction at personal cost. |
| III | Protection & Influence
| 7 | why?Attributes: Protection, Stewardship, used legislative power constructively (Appropriations) and championed self-binding ethics reform that constrains his own enrichment. No Exploitation on record. Held at 7 by the absence of a standout Courage-in-Conflict moment. |
| IV | Legacy & Virtue
| 7 | why?Attributes: Integrity, Justice, a clean, transparency-forward record; the End Corruption Caucus and stock-ban advocacy are legacy-positive. Held at 7 as a solid-but-not-extraordinary institutional-fidelity record. |
| TOTAL: Moderate | 28/40 |
Total 28/40, Adequate-to-Strong. Honest middle-upper: a clean, transparency-leading record without the rare extraordinary-sacrifice pillar that drives the top tier.
What the Four Pillars are & the questions behind each →
In their own words
“No member of Congress should be allowed to use non-public material information that they get as part of their job and go and trade shares of stocks on it.”
CNBC interview calling for a congressional stock-trading ban · CNBC · ACCOUNTABILITY · cite
“President Trump incited an insurrection against the United States government, violating his oath of office, and I believe he should be removed from office.”
Statement on the 25th Amendment and impeachment, framed in oath terms · Office of Rep. Mike Levin · CIVIC · cite
“We must ban congressional stock trading, public trust must come before private profit.”
The Levin Letter op-ed on congressional stock trading · Office of Rep. Mike Levin · PRINCIPLED · cite
Full personnel file
1. Identity
Michael Sheldon Levin (born 1978). U.S. Representative for California's 49th congressional district since 2019, serving his fourth term. Environmental attorney by background. Member of the House Committee on Appropriations, serving on the Subcommittees on Energy and Water Development and on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies. Co-founder (2025-2026) of the End Corruption Caucus with Reps. Jason Crow and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. On the ballot for re-election in 2026.
2. Voting / Legislative Profile
Cross-aisle output is solid but not top-quartile: approximately 19-30 bipartisan bills signed into law under presidents of both parties since 2019, worked largely through the Appropriations process (Energy & Water; MilCon-VA). Signature non-policy posture is institutional ethics reform, co-founding the End Corruption Caucus and championing a ban on member stock trading, the TRUST/Restore Trust in Congress Act family, and extension of ethics rules to spouses and dependents. Policy positions (ICE accountability, environment) are noted as context and expressly NOT scored on merit in either direction.
3. Constitutional Moments
Framed his 2019 and 2021 impeachment and 25th-Amendment positions in oath-of-office and constitutional terms. IMPORTANT: those VOTES are the constitutional process functioning and are not scored as merit here. As a Democrat first seated in 2019, he did not and could not sign the December 2020 Texas v. Pennsylvania amicus and has no fake-electors or process-subversion conduct on record, no criterion-8 flag applies.
4. Rhetoric & Discourse Profile
Policy-focused and restrained. Criticism of the administration is framed around alleged "illegal actions" and accountability rather than dehumanizing opponents or citizens. No documented sustained enemy-making or incitement pattern (no criterion-10 conduct). Heated policy language is policy heat and is not scored.
5. Fiduciary Profile
No office-attributable enrichment documented, no self-dealing, family payments, office-information trades, or foreign-government revenue on record, and no STOCK Act finding. A town-hall allegation that he accepts PAC money was disputed by him and is unadjudicated; weighed as an appearance-concern only, not a finding. Affirmatively led self-binding reform: a congressional stock-trading ban and extension of ethics rules to spouses and dependents, reform that constrains his own potential enrichment. Net positive on M11.
6. Severity-Class Conduct
No documented Severity-class conduct under any of the eight criteria. As a Democrat seated in 2019, he is not on the Texas v. Pennsylvania amicus signatory list and has no fake-electors, process-subversion, or enemy-making/incitement pattern on record. Flag count: zero.
7. What The Framework Says
A clean conduct record with affirmative transparency leadership and no criterion-class conduct. The honest reading is solid institutional service, accessible (121+ town halls), substantive on Appropriations, and reform-forward on ethics (the End Corruption Caucus and the stock-trading ban, which cut against his own interest). What keeps it out of the top tier is the absence of a rare extraordinary-at-cost stand on the oath or against his own side. Clears the bar; honest middle-upper.
8. Sources & Where To Look Deeper
Tier 1 (primary): Congress.gov member record · House Committee on Ethics, financial disclosure
Tier 2: Lugar/McCourt Bipartisan Index · CNBC, congressional stock ownership · Office of Rep. Mike Levin, press releases
Research links: Congress.gov member profile · Ballotpedia · House financial disclosures · GovTrack · Wikipedia
Scores derive from the fixed Constitutional Weight Schedule. The bar does not move. Conduct, not party.