White House: S&P rating underscores need for bipartisan deal

White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday that Standard and Poor's “negative” rating of the United States’s long-term debt underscores the need for Republicans and Democrats to work together on fiscal reform and raising the debt ceiling.

Carney said the White House would not disagree with S&P’s analysis of the contentiousness in Washington, but said history shows that on big issues, both sides have demonstrated they can work together.

To that end, Carney said he believes that the “political process will outperform S&P expectations.”

“We think a reminder that we need an agreement on fiscal reform is always valuable,” Carney said.

Markets tumbled Monday after S&P lowered its outlook on U.S. debt to negative. 

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