WHAT JUST HAPPENED? The rating agency Moody's on May 16 downgraded the U.S. government's credit rating from its highest Aaa to Aa1, citing what the agency described as the government's failure to address growing debt and fiscal deficits. 1 Moody's is the last of the three major rating agencies to downgrade the U.S., following Standard & Poor's in 2011 and Fitch Ratings in 2023. 2