US Bailout in Chaos, WaMu Is Biggest Bank Failure

U.S. congressional leaders will try again on Friday to save a $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan after talks broke down in acrimony against the backdrop of the nation’s biggest-ever bank failure.

As negotiations over the White House’s unprecedented bailout scheme degenerated into chaos when a rival Republican plan emerged, the U.S. authorities shut down Washington Mutual, the largest U.S. savings and loan bank, and sold its assets.

Democratic Rep. Barney Frank, who has played a key role in talks over the bailout plan, said negotiations would continue on Friday, but with no sign that Republicans in the House of Representatives would take part.

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He said he hoped President George W. Bush and Republican presidential candidate John McCain could convince them to join the talks, where Senate and House Democrats, Senate Republicans and the Treasury Department were working together and “there aren’t huge differences.”

“I can’t believe that House Republicans are going to continue to defy George Bush or that John McCain isn’t going to try to help,” he said. “There is optimism.”

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