Washington - US President George W Bush plans to meet Thursday in Washington with presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain as well as congressional leaders to discuss the ongoing US financial crisis and a proposed 700-billion-dollar rescue.

Congress turned increasingly skeptical in hearings Wednesday toward the Bush administration's bailout plan. The president was scheduled to give a television address to the nation late Wednesday.

A few moments ago, President Bush called Senator Obama and asked him to attend a meeting in Washington tomorrow, which he agreed to do," Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement late Wednesday.

McCain announced hours earlier that he was suspending his campaign to return to the Senate to pursue action on the financial crisis. (dpa)