Leading Republicans on Sunday showed further signs of dissent over President George W. Bush’s reported plans to send more troops to Iraq, while the Democrats, now in control of Congress, said they would not give the president a “blank cheque” for reinforcements.

“If the president recommends what we seem to believe he’s going to recommend, I intend to support him,” declared Mitch McConnell, the Republican’s new minority leader in the Senate, before conceding on Fox News Sunday that other Republicans would not endorse the plan.