White House says aiding carmakers not intent bailout

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md (Reuters) - The White House said on Thursday it was not Congress' intent to use the $700 billion (470 billion pound) financial rescue package to help ailing U.S. automakers.

"That was not Congress' intent," Gordon Johndroe, a White House spokesman, told reporters travelling with President George W. Bush to New York. Bush was scheduled to speak about the financial markets and economy later in the day in New York City.

(Reporting by Tabassum Zakaria; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)