Moody’s Ratings slashed the United States’ credit rating down a notch to Aa1 from the highest triple A on Friday, citing the budgetary burden the government faces amid high interest rates.

F inancial ratings firm Moody’s Ratings downgraded the U.S. government’s credit ratings Friday, citing its rising debt and interest in a move that underscores a ballo

Moody’s blamed the downgrade on more than a decade of increasing government debt and interest payment ratios, and the failure of U.S. administrations and Congress “to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large annual fiscal deficits and growing interest costs.”