Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) called on Washington to get its fiscal house in order after Fitch lowered the country's credit rating, a "stark warning" that he said "cannot be ignored."

Citing an "erosion of governance," Fitch downgraded the rating from AAA to AA+ on Tuesday, the first time a credit agency has taken such a step since 2011. The downgrade, both then and now, followed a bitter fight and last-minute resolution to a standoff over the country's debt ceiling.

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The announcement revived a familiar blame game by party leaders, with Democrats faulting Republicans' insistence on budget cuts and the GOP denouncing the trillions in new spending approved under the Biden administration. Former President Donald Trump, too, faced blame after Fitch cited the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol as a factor in its decision-making.

Manchin, a centrist Democrat from West Virginia, however, called the downgrade a "historic failure of leadership by both political parties and the Executive branch."

He urged Congress and the White House to fund the government and avoid a protracted government shutdown that appears increasingly likely. But he said doing so must include fiscal reforms.

"We must act now to fully fund the government and address our national debt before we wake up to a future where America's superpower status is in jeopardy and we have lost the confidence of our allies around the world," Manchin said in a statement. "Every American will suffer if Washington politics get in the way of long-term solutions that address these challenges."

Congress is veering toward another showdown over federal spending, albeit with lower stakes. The country averted default after Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and President Joe Biden agreed in May to what, in effect, amounted to a spending freeze next year. In exchange, the debt ceiling was raised until after the 2024 election.

The deal infuriated McCarthy's right flank, which has threatened to depose him as speaker unless he pursues far deeper cuts in the appropriations process. The demands, plus the Senate's own desire to circumvent the budget caps laid out in the agreement, at least for higher defense spending, have set Washington on a collision course once again ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline to fund the government.

Party leadership could opt to pass a short-term continuing resolution that would delay the fight until December, although it's not clear that will happen.

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"September will be a crucial month as the deadline to fund the federal government grows closer," Manchin said. "Now, more than ever, it is time for elected leaders from both parties to work together and send a clear message to the world that we will take the necessary fiscal and budgetary steps to restore our credit rating and keep America's economy strong for this generation and the next."

Manchin, who is weighing whether to run for reelection next year in a deeply red state, has staked out a centrist lane for himself in Congress. He has even flirted with the idea of a third-party run for president under the banner of No Labels but told voters in New Hampshire last month that he has no desire to play "spoiler" in the 2024 race.