Fitch and S&P Global Ratings have lowered the US credit rating, two months after a debt-ceiling deal prevented government default.

Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi criticized Fitch’s move, calling it “off-base.” The White House and others reacted strongly, noting that Fitch’s quantitative ratings model for US budgetary health has improved since Biden took office.

Others disputed the rating agency’s methods, with former National Economic Council Director Jason Furman and liberal economist Paul Krugman arguing that the downgrade is “widely and correctly ridiculed.”