Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, May 17: The White House on Friday strongly criticised Moody’s Ratings for downgrading the United States’ credit rating, calling the move politically motivated and questioning the credibility of the agency's analysis.

The downgrade, which lowered the US rating from Aaa to Aa1, now places Moody’s in line with Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings, both of which had previously reduced the US's sovereign credit standing. Moody’s justified the move by citing rising debt, persistent fiscal deficits, and pressure from higher interest rates.

“US federal debt has risen sharply due to continuous fiscal deficits,” Moody’s stated. “This one-notch downgrade reflects increased government debt and interest payments that are now significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns.”

In response, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung lashed out at Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics — a separate entity from Moody’s Ratings — calling him a “long-time critic” of Trump’s policies. “Nobody takes his ‘analysis’ seriously. He has been proven wrong time and time again,” Cheung posted on X.

Joe Lavorgna, a former White House economist under Trump, called the timing of the announcement “very strange,” suggesting Moody’s was overly pessimistic about economic growth and revenues.

The downgrade comes as Washington grapples with a nearly $2 trillion annual deficit and rising debt servicing costs. Meanwhile, lawmakers are negotiating a massive tax bill aiming to renew and expand the 2017 Trump-era tax cuts.

The bill, a key priority for Trump, includes $1.5 trillion in spending cuts but is projected to fall short of covering the proposed $4 trillion in tax breaks. The downgrade was announced just hours after a key House committee failed to advance the tax legislation, raising concerns among fiscal conservatives.

President Trump, addressing the delay, urged Republicans to stop “grandstanding” and fall in line to pass the bill swiftly.