• Fitch Ratings on Tuesday announced it has downgraded the credit rating of the US one notch from AAA to AA+ over what it called “eroded confidence in fiscal management” after numerous political standoffs related to the debt ceiling. USA Today (LR: 3 CP: 5)
• Fitch also cited the possibility of a recession, an inability of lawmakers to reach a consensus on fiscal issues, and continued denial of the results of the 2020 presidential election as facets of its decision. POLITICO
• This downgrade comes two months after lawmakers spent weeks negotiating over whether to raise the debt limit, only to agree at the last minute before a default would have occurred. New York Times (LR: 2 CP: 5)
• Fitch previously flagged a potential downgrade in May, and then said it would make its decision after reviewing the third quarter of this year. Reuters (LR: 3 CP: 5)
• US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the downgrade was based on outdated information and she called the US economy “fundamentally strong.” NPR Online News (LR: 3 CP: 5)

Democratic narrative:

• The GOP is clearly to blame for this debt downgrade because of the debt ceiling and 2020 election embarrassments. Luckily, a similar downgrade didn’t dramatically harm the economy a decade ago, but if there's injury after this one, it will be the Republicans’ fault.
  MSNBC (LR: 1 CP: 5)

Republican narrative:

• The Biden administration continues to refuse to take the blame for its reckless spending. Republicans — as members of the fiscally responsible party — certainly can’t be at fault for damaging Fitch’s confidence. Hopefully, Democrats will get the message when they'll be inevitably rejected in the next election.
  Red State (LR: 5 CP: 4)

Nerd narrative:

• There’s a 1% chance that the US will default on its sovereign debt before 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
  Metaculus (LR: 3 CP: 3)