Republicans on Monday attacked the Obama administration's plans for U.S. ownership of General Motors Corp. (GM) as excessive government interference in private industry and said they would push for more oversight of government rescue programs.

GM's government-financed bankruptcy "may buy some time but does nothing to ensure GM's success," House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement. "The only thing it makes clear is that the government is firmly in the business of running companies, using taxpayer dollars."

Boehner criticized the administration for not presenting a plan for when and how the government would divest its expected 60% equity stake in the revamped GM.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, said he would push for greater congressional oversight of the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, which will have provided $50 billion to GM under Obama's plan.

Hensarling, who sits on the Congressional Oversight Panel, created to oversee the TARP, said he has asked the committee's chairwoman to hold a hearing on the matter but hasn't received a reply.

"Now we have the People's Republic of GM, owned by the taxpayer, who I'm not sure wanted their loan converted to equity in the first place,"said Hensarling, pointing out that the financial rescue program was intended to help the financial system, not industrial companies.

"If there was ever a use of TARP money that cried out for congressional oversight," Hensarling added, "this is it."

Recent polls show public support lagging for more government assistance to GM, with Rasmussen Reports saying Sunday that 21% of Americans supported a rescue of the auto maker.

Republicans saw a political opportunity in President Barack Obama's announcement Monday that the administration would provide $30 billion in new aid to GM, on top of $20 billion already given the company.

The Republican National Committee posted a video on its Web site Monday titled "Government Motors." It was accompanied by a scathing statement from RNC Chairman Michael Steele, who called the administration's plans for GM "nothing more than another government grab of a private company and another handout to the union cronies who helped bankroll his presidential campaign."

Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., whose district has been battered by the auto industry's troubles, detracted from members of her party, calling Obama's plans for GM "the only responsible step forward."

"I understand their ideology," Miller said of fellow Republicans in an interview. "But to be so rigid with no compassion for working men and women who are losing their jobs, people who have invested, who have lost their capital, and the continued pain by suppliers and auto dealers and others, I think it's an ideology. And I am applauding the auto task force and this administration for stepping up and doing the right thing."

Miller said the lack of public support for the rescue showed that Obama was not influenced by politics, adding, "How is it helping him?"

Democrats, meanwhile, defended the president's plan as necessary to save jobs.

"The ultimate outcome of today's announcement, GM's survival and rebirth, is by far a better outcome than the alternative of GM's liquidation," Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said in statement.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called the bankruptcy filing by GM a "regrettable but necessary step to ensuring the auto industry remains the core of our domestic manufacturing base."

"President Obama's decision to take a short-term stake in General Motors is driven by our nation's shared interest in ensuring the American auto industry can survive," Reid said in a statement.

-By Josh Mitchell, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6637; joshua.mitchell@dowjones.com