Scott McClellan, President Bush's spokesman, said the president became aware over the weekend of the transfer of operations at major ports, including Baltimore, Miami and New York.

''One thing the president did, and even after all this press coverage of this transaction, was go back to every Cabinet member whose department is involved in this process and ask them, 'Are you comfortable with this deal going forward?' '' McClellan said. ''And each and every one expressed that they were comfortable with this transaction going forward.''

In a rare admission of error and in an indication that the White House might be seeking a deal with Capitol Hill to halt the furor, McClellan also said, ''We probably should have briefed Congress about it sooner.''

The decision was made last month by an interagency committee led by Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt. The group included officials from 12 departments and agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Justice, State and Homeland Security, as well as the National Security Council and the National Economic Council.

On Wednesday, Kimmitt said the company, Dubai Ports World, had been thoroughly investigated by the administration, including by intelligence agencies, and that on Jan. 17 the committee members unanimously approved the transfer.

''None of them objected to the deal proceeding on national security grounds,'' he said.

Kimmitt made his comments as the Republicans on Capitol Hill remained in open rebellion against President Bush and the White House spent the day trying to tamp down the uprising. An objection from any member of the interagency committee would have started, as required by law, an additional 45-day review. Such a review is being urged by governors and members of Congress. But Bush and his top aides are strongly resisting that.

Even before the transfer became known, the administration's review of foreign business deals had come under criticism for not being sufficiently sensitive to national security. In September, the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress, said the Treasury Department, as head of the interagency committee that reviews such deals, had used an overly narrow definition of national security threats because it wanted to encourage foreign investment.

The department disputed those findings, saying that the committee had used an adequate definition of national security and that decisions were reached by consensuses of different agencies with differing interests.

The chief operating officer of Dubai Ports World, Edward Bilkey, said he and other executives met Kimmitt's committee in December and then had numerous additional meetings before the final decision.

''We complied with what the requirements were,'' Bilkey said, ''and there was no problem.''

Republicans said an agreement by the White House to delay the transfer would help.

''If the president announces between now and next Monday or Tuesday that he is going to hold it for 45 days, have an investigation and consult with Congress, I think that would at least buy time,'' said Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican who is a leading opponent of the new port management.

''That is against the enemy,'' King said. ''This is against us. That to me is a real difference. I strongly believe if we are going to be serious about homeland security that we cannot allow a contract to be approved using pre-9/11 standards.''

He said Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois had assured him they ''were on the same page'' on halting the sale.

To reach out, the White House dispatched aides to brief advisers to the Republican leadership on the rationale for the deal, and the port company retained high-powered help to deal with Capitol Hill, including former Sen. Bob Dole and the firm of former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Bush threatened Tuesday to veto any legislation blocking a deal for the company to run the ports.

Lawmakers and aides said the near united Republican resistance in Congress was a new atmosphere for a White House accustomed to strong public support for its policies and the willingness to settle any disagreements privately. But it was not seen as a permanent break.

''Over the past five years, the president has made the right call over and over again,'' said Eric Ueland, chief of staff to Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader. ''This is one time. Nobody wants to come to a giant battle over this. We want homeland security. He wants homeland security.''

Democrats who joined in the call to scuttle the port transfer said they considered congressional Republicans newcomers on port security. They began circulating voting records to show that Republicans had rejected calls to increase spending on port safety.

''All of the sudden, they want to act really tough,'' said Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. ''But when it came to strengthening port security and implementing the 9/11 commission recommendations, they were nowhere to be found.''