Even before talk of fresh unfunded tax cuts took center stage in the budget wrangling on Capitol Hill, US bond investors were making their views loud and clear: If the government keeps spending more than it takes in,

Nina Eichacker, an economics professor at the University of Rhode Island, says the downgrade speaks to a “growing disparity between an administration that talks about wanting to reduce the debt and then pursues policies that do anything but.

That legislation, which the Congressional Budget Office estimated will add $4.5 trillion to the deficit through 2034, proved to be the final straw for Moody’s. The credit agency had previously kept the U.S. in its top rung of borrowers since it first issued ratings for government bonds in 1919.

Moody's becomes latest major credit rating agency to downgrade US' 'perfect' long-term credit rating - Anadolu Ajansı

It all comes down to money. The credit rating is a guide to how risky buying debt is for potential investors. Independent agencies examine the metrics of a would-be bond seller to assess their creditworthiness and determine how likely that issuer might be to default on their debt.

Home Depot earnings are front and center for U.S. stock investors in what will be a busy week for reports including Target and Lowe’s and any tariff price impacts for consumers. FOX Business is providing real-time updates on the markets,

In a separate interview on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” on Monday, Hassett called U.S. debt “the safest bet on Earth,” but similarly said that the new rating is “backward looking” and is “penalizing us for all the reckless spending of the Biden administration” — all while predicting an economic “liftoff.”

Years of rising deficits and budget chaos finally caught up with the U.S. credit rating Friday when Moody’s Investor Service downgraded the government, stripping its last triple-A rating.