Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Moody's downgraded U.S. credit rating, citing rising debt and interest payments.
- Sen. Mike Lee urges spending cuts, criticizes Congress for excessive spending habits.
- Sen. John Curtis calls for entitlement reform, emphasizing fiscal honesty and responsibility.
SALT LAKE CITY — Credit rating firm Moody's downgraded the rating on U.S. sovereign credit on Friday, citing concern over the growth in the nation's debt over the past decade and the nation's high interest payments.
The change means the United States' rating dropped one notch from below its former triple-A rating, the highest available, to Aa1.
"Successive U.S. administrations and Congress have failed to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large annual fiscal deficits and growing interest costs," Moody's said. "We do not believe that material multiyear reductions in mandatory spending and deficits will result from current fiscal proposals under consideration."
Moody's said it expects deficits to increase over the next decade because of the growing cost of entitlements, which include Social Security and Medicare.
Other credit rating agencies had earlier downgraded the United States' rating, Fitch Ratings in 2023 and S&P Global Ratings in 2011, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The credit rating downgrade comes at a tricky time for Republicans in Congress, as they try to pass a massive tax cut, dubbed Trump's "big, beautiful bill." The bill is projected to increase the deficit by trillions of dollars over the next decade. Proponents claim it will lead to economic growth that would offset those increases.
The rating decrease also follows President Donald Trump's chaotic tariff rollout, which left markets and businesses jittery.
Utah Sens. Mike Lee and John Curtis both called for additional cuts in the wake of the downgrade.
Sen. Mike Lee calls for a balanced budget
Lee released a series of social media posts Friday calling for additional spending cuts in the "big, beautiful bill."
"We have plenty of revenue," he said in one post. "Congress just spends too much. Tell Congress: the big, beautiful bill can't be beautiful unless it meaningfully addresses the spending problem."
In response to a post by Florida Sen. Rick Scott reacting to the downgrade, Lee said, "Tell Congress: Balance the budget Or our interest will tank our economy."
Lee also blamed the downgrade on the "uniparty," in a separate post.
"This is what happens when the United States when Congress pretends there's no limit on what we can spend. The Uniparty has utterly betrayed us. Time to dethrone The Uniparty—once and for all," he wrote.
He previously told the Deseret News the uniparty is "this almost mysterious force (that) steps in and unifies enough members of both houses and local political parties to support them."
Sen. John Curtis: Time to deal with entitlements
Curtis also responded to the downgrade on social media, saying, "Moody's didn't issue a warning. They rang the alarm. Let's answer it — with fiscal honesty and the courage to do hard things."
Earlier in the week, Curtis gave his first Senate floor speech where he spoke about the need for Congress to tackle the nation's debt head on by reforming entitlements — long considered a third rail by most lawmakers.
He referred to those remarks in his post on Friday.
"This week, I stood for the first time on the Senate floor and said to Democrats and Republicans: we are not being honest with the American people when we pretend that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid don't need reform," he wrote. "We must stop kicking the can down the road. Washington's addiction to spending is not compassionate — it's irresponsible. Utahns understand thrift, hard work, and the importance of living within your means. It's time Congress did too."
