Fitch: Republican Default Threats Result in Downgrade of U.S. Credit Rating

PHOENIX — Republican attempts to default the economy, including the recent Default on America Act that Congressmen Juan Ciscomani and David Schweikert voted for, played a large role in the downgrade of U.S. credit rating by a major international agency.

According to Fitch Ratings, “The repeated debt-limit political standoffs and last-minute resolutions have eroded confidence in fiscal management,” and are in large part responsible for the agency's decision to downgrade the U.S.'s credit. The rating could raise consumer interest rates if the nation is deemed untrustworthy.

Congressmen Ciscomani and Schweikert both stood with Republican extremists to bring the country to the brink of an economic default this spring, including voting for the dangerous Default on America Act. Now, both are supporting legislation that rejects the funding deal agreed upon in the spring to avoid a default, setting up a potential government shutdown. Congressman Schweikert was also serving when he and his Republican colleagues forced government shutdowns in 2013 and 2019, and he voted against raising the debt limit in order to prevent a default in 2021. 

“Congressman Ciscomani and Schweikert call themselves fiscally responsible, but their voting records and threats to default the economy damaged the U.S.'s credit rating and threaten to increase the cost of living for Arizonans even more,” Honest Arizona executive director Andrea Moreno said. “Ciscomani and Schweikert need to stop playing chicken with the U.S. economy and start looking out for the Arizonans they swore an oath to represent.”

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