US Credit Downgrade 'Entirely Unwarranted': Yellen

A US credit downgrade by Fitch was "entirely unwarranted," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Wednesday, pushing back against the second-ever decrease by a major ratings agency following repeated debt limit standoffs in Washington.

Her remarks came a day after the world's biggest economy lost its top-tier credit rating from Fitch as the agency lowered it a notch from AAA to AA+, drawing fiery disapproval from the White House and Treasury.

The action was on the back of the United States' growing federal debt burden and an "erosion of governance" resulting in multiple gridlocks over the debt ceiling, said Fitch Ratings on Tuesday.

But Yellen told an event in Virginia that "Fitch's decision is puzzling in light of the economic strength we see in the United States."