Officials in the Biden administration and its allies are scrambling to downplay the second downgrade of America’s debt in history, blaming the vote of no confidence from one of the world’s top rating agencies on President Trump and Republicans in Congress.

Overshadowed as it was by the third indictment of Mr. Trump, the downgrade from Fitch Ratings late Tuesday left Democrats both within and outside the administration pointing fingers and rushing to blame the messenger. The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said the downgrade “defies reality.” Secretary Yellen called it “arbitrary and based on outdated data.” An anonymous “senior Biden administration official” told Reuters that the decision was “bizarre and baseless.”