Bush to hold 11 a.m. news conference

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush will hold a Rose Garden news conference on Thursday to make his case for Iraq war funding legislation and an overhaul of U.S. immigration policy, the White House said.

Spokeswoman Dana Perino said the news conference would take place at 11 a.m. EDT/(1500 GMT).

In a victory for Bush, the U.S. Congress was expected to approve money later in the day that Bush sought to continue the war in Iraq, marking a failure by Democrats to impose a timetable for withdrawing troops from an increasingly expensive and unpopular conflict.

Prospects for immigration changes are more clouded. Lawmakers from both sides of the political spectrum are assailing compromise bill that would beef up border security while creating a guest-worker program for illegal immigrants.