Composite 5.08 / 10, weighted per the Constitutional Weight Schedule.
Below the 700 bar, Author's Verdict: not supported.
Lands in the Unfit band at credit 546, below the 700 support line, Author's Verdict: not supported. (See section 7 for the full reasoning.)
- F-22 Raptor fighter pilot; multiple combat deployments to the Middle East
- Continued service in the U.S. Air Force Reserve while in Congress
Service to country is honored here as context, not as a score. No conduct measure is moved by the badge; where in-service character bears on a measure it is scored as conduct, not credited as service.
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 | 6 | why?No documented use of legal-on-its-face power to defeat a constitutional purpose. His January 6, 2021 floor objections to the Arizona and Pennsylvania electoral counts are the constitutional objection process working and are NOT scored here per the contamination rule (a bare floor objection is not process-subversion). He was seated January 3, 2021 and so could not have signed the December 2020 Texas v. Pennsylvania amicus, verified absent from the signatory list. The score reflects an ordinary partisan oath posture with no affirmative defense of separation-of-powers limits against his own side, not a subversion finding. [source] |
| M02 | Party Over Country | 5 | why?A productive legislator who leads the House in bills enacted and attracts influential cosponsors, but the cross-aisle profile is thin, his signature work (RSC 'maximum pressure' Iran package, LNG export bill) runs on party lines. Middle: effective within his caucus, limited evidence of placing institution over denying the other side a win. [source] |
| M03 | Persons of Equal Worth | 4 | why?A documented STOCK Act late-disclosure lapse (2021): trades by him or his wife worth $10,007-$150,000 were reported past the federal deadline, reported by Business Insider in August 2021. This is an office-period transparency/fiduciary lapse weighed as an appearance-concern, not a finding of corruption; no charge or sanction resulted. Held below middle for the documented transparency failure with no public accounting on record. [source] |
| M04 | Weaponization of Justice | 6 | why?No documented weaponization of state power against political rivals, and no criterion-class conduct (he could not have signed the Dec 2020 amicus). The Jan-6 floor objection alone does not reach the process-subversion bar. Ordinary-middle: clean on abuse-of-power, no affirmative restraint mark either. [source] |
| M05 | Incitement / Anti-Belonging | 5 | why?Rhetoric is heavy partisan policy heat ('radical leftists,' 'Democrat policy-created border crisis'), scored as policy heat, NOT as anti-belonging or enemy-making. No documented pattern of casting citizens or opponents as enemies who do not belong, and no incitement. Middle: combative but within ordinary political register, no crit-10 conduct. [source] |
| M06 | Fiduciary Conduct | 4 | why?The 2021 STOCK Act late-disclosure lapse is the one documented fiduciary appearance-concern, and there is no public ownership or correction statement on record (unlike a member who self-accounts). Weighed as an appearance-concern with no sanction; held below middle for the unremediated transparency failure. [source] |
| M07 | Duty to Call Out | 5 | why?Scored on the active-duty standard, calling out one's OWN side at cost. No documented instance of breaking with his party or leadership at personal cost; his record is reliably aligned with his caucus. NOT penalized for the Jan-6 vote (contamination rule). Middle-low: no anti-courage conduct, but the higher bar of self-side accountability is unmet on the record. [source] |
| M08 | The Discretion Test | 5 | why?No documented test of personal discretion against self-interest on the record, no episode where he gave up an advantage for principle, and no episode of exploiting one. Honest middle in the absence of a discretion-test event. [source] |
| M09 | The No-Camera Test | 5 | why?No documented gap between a private posture and a public one; on-record statements are consistent with his public brand. No evidence either way of a hidden-contempt pattern. Neutral middle. [source] |
| M10 | Constituent-vs-Donor Vote | 5 | why?Active constituent-facing work (town halls, district focus on energy and the border) tracking his district's expressed preferences; no documented donor-over-constituent capture beyond the STOCK Act note scored at M11. Middle, leaning representative-of-district. [source] |
| M11 | Net-Worth Trajectory | 5 | why?Scored ONLY on office-attributable enrichment, not raw wealth. No documented self-dealing, family payments, office-information trades, or foreign-government revenue. The 2021 STOCK Act late filing is a disclosure-timing lapse (scored at M03/M06), not evidence of office-info trading. Clean-middle on the enrichment standard. [source] |
| M12 | Floor Decorum | 6 | why?Conventional institutional decorum on the record, committee chairmanships (Counterterrorism subcommittee), RSC chair, regular legislative process. No documented spectacle-over-institution incidents. Upper-middle for routine respect of process without a distinguishing institutional-fidelity stand. [source] |
| M13 | Lying & Misleading | 5 | why?No documented sustained-falsehood pattern attributable to him; partisan framing is sharp but not a record of repeated factual misrepresentation. No affirmative truth-telling-at-cost mark either. Middle. [source] |
| M14 | Knowledge Depth | 6 | why?Demonstrated substantive command in his lanes, energy (LNG export legislation), foreign affairs and counterterrorism (Iran sanctions package as RSC chair), with measurable enacted output leading the House. Substance over pure talking points within his issue set. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| M03 | 2021 STOCK Act late disclosure, trades by him or his wife worth $10,007-$150,000 reported past the federal deadline (Business Insider, Aug 2021) ↳ transparency/fiduciary lapse during office | No charge or sanction; weighed as an appearance-concern, not a corruption finding |
| M06 | Same STOCK Act late-disclosure lapse with no public ownership or correction statement on record ↳ Fiduciary appearance-of-impropriety, unremediated | No sanction; resolved-by-inaction rather than affirmative accounting |
| M02 | Signature legislation (Iran sanctions package, LNG export bill) runs largely on party lines; thin cross-aisle cosponsorship profile ↳ limited bipartisan reach | - |
| M07 | No documented instance of breaking with his own side at personal cost ↳ self-side accountability unmet (active-duty standard) | - |
| M05 | Heavy partisan rhetoric ('radical leftists', 'Democrat policy-created border crisis') ↳ combative register | Scored as policy heat only, NOT anti-belonging or enemy-making; no crit-10 pattern |
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
| 5 | why?Attributes: Selfless Service, Steadiness, military service and steady legislative work weigh positive, but loyalty runs reliably to party rather than to institution-over-side; no documented courage-against-own-side mark. Honest middle. |
| II | Aspiration & Integrity
| 4 | why?Attributes: Authenticity, Self-Reflection, held below middle by the unremediated 2021 STOCK Act transparency lapse (no public ownership on record), a drag toward the Accountability opposite. Authentic and consistent in his stated convictions otherwise. |
| III | Protection & Influence
| 5 | why?Attributes: Stewardship, Protection, substantive policy work on energy and national security; no documented Exploitation of office. The disclosure lapse is a minor stewardship note rather than an abuse. Middle. |
| IV | Legacy & Virtue
| 5 | why?Attributes: Integrity, Love of Truth, a conventional, productive partisan record with no distinguishing institutional-fidelity stand and one unremediated fiduciary asterisk. No anti-truth pattern. Middle. |
| TOTAL: Weak | 19/40 |
Total 19/40, Adequate-to-middle. The pillars track a competent, party-aligned record with one honest fiduciary drag and no extraordinary character mark in either direction.
What the Four Pillars are & the questions behind each →
In their own words
“It's past time for officials in Washington to follow the Constitution and protect our local communities from the Democrat policy-created border crisis.”
Statement on border policy · pfluger.house.gov press release · CONTESTED · cite
“Our ICE officers and facilities have been hit with an unprecedented wave of violent threats this year.”
Resolution condemning attacks on ICE personnel and facilities · Odessa American · CONTESTED · cite
“These bills hold the Iranian regime accountable and cut off a major financial stream for Tehran.”
Introducing the No Iranian Energy Act as RSC chair · San Angelo Live · CIVIC · cite
Full personnel file
1. Identity
August Lee Pfluger II (born December 28, 1978). U.S. Representative for Texas's 11th Congressional District since January 3, 2021. Chairman of the Republican Study Committee (119th Congress); Chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence; member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. U.S. Air Force F-22 fighter pilot (active 2003-2010), continuing in the Air Force Reserve. Former National Security Council staff. Republican. Advanced from the March 2026 primary; facing Claire Reynolds in the November 2026 general election.
2. Voting / Legislative Profile
High legislative output, among House leaders in bills enacted in recent sessions, concentrated in energy and national security. Signature work: the Republican Study Committee "Enforcing Maximum Pressure" Iran sanctions package (incl. the No Iranian Energy Act) and the Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2024. Cross-aisle profile is thin; signature bills run largely on party lines. Lugar/McCourt Bipartisan Index ranking not surfaced as a standout; GovTrack notes strong influential-cosponsor pull within his own caucus. Policy positions are NOT graded here in either direction.
3. Constitutional Moments
January 6, 2021: in his first days in office, voted to sustain objections to the Arizona and Pennsylvania electoral counts. Under the framework's contamination rule this certification VOTE is the constitutional objection process and is NOT scored against M01/M04/M07. Verified that he could NOT have signed the December 2020 Texas v. Pennsylvania amicus (filed before he was seated; absent from the 126-signatory list). No process-subversion (Criterion 8) conduct attaches.
4. Rhetoric & Discourse Profile
Sharply partisan but within ordinary political register. Recurring framing of opponents' policy ('radical leftists,' 'Democrat policy-created border crisis') is scored as policy heat, not as anti-belonging or enemy-making. No documented pattern of casting citizens or opponents as enemies who do not belong, and no incitement or direction of confrontation. No Criterion 10 conduct.
5. Fiduciary Profile
One documented fiduciary appearance-concern: a 2021 STOCK Act late disclosure, trades by him or his wife worth $10,007-$150,000 reported past the federal deadline (Business Insider, Aug 2021). No charge, sanction, or public correction on record. No documented self-dealing, family payments, office-information trades, or foreign-government revenue (M11 clean on office-attributable enrichment). Raw household wealth is not penalized.
6. Severity-Class Conduct
No documented Severity-class conduct under any of the eight criteria. He was seated after the December 2020 Texas v. Pennsylvania amicus and could not have signed it; his January 6, 2021 floor objections are the constitutional objection process and do not constitute process-subversion (Criterion 8). Partisan rhetoric does not reach the sustained enemy-making/incitement bar (Criterion 10). Flag count: zero.
7. What The Framework Says
A competent, productive, reliably party-aligned record with one honest fiduciary drag and no extraordinary character mark in either direction. The standard does not score his Jan-6 certification vote or his policy positions; it records the documented 2021 STOCK Act transparency lapse and the thin cross-aisle and self-side-accountability profile. No capping conduct. An honest middle, neither distinguished by an institutional-fidelity stand nor disqualified by any subversion or enrichment finding.
8. Sources & Where To Look Deeper
Tier 1 (primary): Congress.gov member record · House Clerk financial disclosures
Tier 2: Ballotpedia · GovTrack member page + 2024 report card
Research links: Congress.gov member profile · Ballotpedia · GovTrack · House financial disclosures · Wikipedia
Scores derive from the fixed Constitutional Weight Schedule. The bar does not move. Conduct, not party.