In a major setback to the Bush administration, the US House of Representatives on Monday rejected a whopping $700 billion emergency rescue package intended to bail out bankrupt American financial institutions, despite bipartisan backing by lawmakers.

The bill was trounced by a 228-205 vote, with "no votes" from both the Democratic and Republican sides.

The move sent shock waves across the financial markets, including the Wall Street, plunging stocks by 705 points.

The 110-page Bill, intended to ease a growing credit crisis, came after a frenzied week of political squabbling that culminated in an agreement between the Bush administration and Congress early yesterday.

The House fifteen minute vote which was kept open for several minutes longer, lawmakers voted 228 to 205 to reject the plan, a clear setback not only to the White House but also the leadership of both parties. The Senate has not acted on the package yet.

At the time of getting into the vote there was considerable uncertainty but there was the thinking in the leaderships that the vote might just barely scrape through.

But in the end only 141 Democrats voted for the bill and were joined by 65 Republicans. And 94 Democrats voted against the measure, along with 133 Republicans.