Inside how Biden’s frustrated advisers crafted an ‘aggressive’ response to Fitch’s downgrade of US credit

Outreach from Fitch Ratings to the Treasury Department on Monday afternoon set off a frenzy inside the Biden administration to respond to news that would once again put President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy under the microscope.

The news from Fitch – that it would one day later downgrade the United States’ creditworthiness, the first such move by a ratings agency in more than a decade – set off a frenetic effort among Biden’s top advisers in the Treasury Department, White House and campaign to craft a response that would paint the decision as controversial, a view shared by a number of independent economists, and pinning any responsibility on Biden’s predecessor.