Senior administration officials spent part of the day talking to auto executives and their lobbyists. People briefed about the discussions said that Chrysler had asked for financing to make it to February or March and the company was hoping that the administration would decide to lend it and General Motors about $11 billion. G.M. has said it needs $4.4 billion this month and another $4.4 billion next month

Image Senator Bob Corker prepared to talk to TV reporters on Friday about the failed auto bailout bill on Capitol Hill. Credit... Doug Mills/ The New York Times

Administration officials said they feared a collapse of one or more of the car companies could have broader implications for the economy.

Some 3,000 suppliers, for example, are owed about $13 billion by the auto companies, according to Neil De Koker, chief executive of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association in Troy, Mich., a trade group that represents auto suppliers. Most suppliers sell parts to all three companies, as well as to Japanese auto makers. The fear is that if one of the Big Three fail, it would take down important suppliers who would then be unable to send parts to the others.

The flat financial markets on Friday appeared to give some breathing room to the administration as it worked to hammer out a plan. Officials cautioned that this rescue plan might not resemble either the House bill or the alternative put forward by Senate Republicans.

The White House had initially expressed reluctance to intervene in the auto crisis, and instead supported redirecting $14 billion that Congress had allocated to help the automakers retool to make more fuel-efficient cars. All but $15 billion of the first $350 billion of the financial rescue fund has been committed by the administration to banks and other financial institutions, and Treasury officials had been saying before Friday that they did not know whether they would seek permission from Congress to use any of the other $350 billion. But Congressional leaders have said that the lawmakers have no intention of returning to Washington until the new session begins next month.

Labor leaders in Detroit hailed the announcement by the administration.

“I think it’s great news, the responses we’ve been getting out of the White House and the Treasury,” said Ron Gettelfinger, the president of the United Automobile Workers union. “It’s important for the White House to exert their influence to release this money as quickly as possible. We cannot afford a run on the banks.”

Both G.M. and Chrysler have said they are in desperate need of cash by the end of December to pay suppliers that have already delivered parts, as well as to make employee payrolls.