New Delhi, May 17 -- Moody's Investors Service downgraded the United States' sovereign credit rating on Friday, citing rising concerns over the nation's growing $36 trillion debt burden.

The credit rating agency lowered the US government's long-standing rating by one notch to "Aa1" from "Aaa" and revised its outlook to "stable" from "negative." Moody's had maintained the United States' top-tier "Aaa" rating since 1919 and was the last of the three major credit rating agencies to downgrade it.

The decision follows Moody's shift in 2023 to a negative outlook due to persistently high fiscal deficits and increasing interest payments.

"Successive US administrations and Congress have failed to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large ...