Fitch cuts US credit rating

NEW YORK - Credit ratings agency Fitch on Tuesday downgraded the US government's credit rating over concerns about "growing debt burden" and "an erosion of governance."

Fitch, one of three major independent agencies that assess creditworthiness, lowered the US credit rating from the top-notch AAA to AA+.

"The rating downgrade of the United States reflects the expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years, a high and growing general government debt burden, and the erosion of governance" relative to peers, Fitch said in a statement.

"In Fitch's view, there has been a steady deterioration in standards of governance over the last 20 years, including on fiscal and debt matters, notwithstanding the June bipartisan agreement to suspend the debt limit until January 2025," the ratings agency said.

In a separate statement, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she "strongly" disagreed with the downgrade, calling it "arbitrary and based on outdated data."

The downgrade came as the first by a major ratings company in more than a decade and amid another round of political brinkmanship over government borrowing.