The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday defied a White House veto threat and passed a bill by a vote of 247 to 181 that would keep the government running for another week -- on the condition of $12 billion in spending cuts.

The measure, which has no chance of becoming law, would also fund the Pentagon through the rest of this fiscal year, which ends September 30. President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats are pushing instead for a bill to fund the entire government for the rest of the fiscal year. Current funding expires at midnight on Friday.

The House vote came as Obama met with congressional leaders at the White House in search of a bipartisan solution.

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan and Thomas Ferraro; editing by Will Dunham)

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