WASHINGTON -- President Bush will seek a court injunction to reopen West Coast ports for an 80-day "cooling-off period," intervening in a bitter labor dispute that has cost the economy as much as $2 billion a day, administration officials said today.

The politically charged decision, which Bush planned to announce here later today, marks the first presidential effort in a quarter-century to end a work stoppage under the Taft-Hartley Act.

Bush decided to order the Justice Department to seek the injunction after board of inquiry hand-picked by the White House reported that the two-week-old labor standoff has no chance of ending soon, said two administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The board's brief report does not go into detail about the economic and national security impact of the shutdown, but it does hold out little hope for a resolution of the conflict, said one of the sources.

A cooling-off period would keep the ports open during the crucial Christmas season, in which retailers are relying on imported goods to stock their shelves.

The trade-off for the Bush administration is that a court-ordered truce could energize organized labor-- traditionally a Democratic ally-- just four weeks before midterm elections. Democratic candidates rely on heavy turnout from union workers, and some presidential advisers fear Bush's intervention will drive angry labor voters to the polls.

On balance, however, White House advisers welcomed the chance to head off a burgeoning standoff between the shipping lines and the union and perhaps ease concerns about his handling of the economy. Polls show a growing number of voters want Bush to spend more time talking about the economy than Iraq. His economic policies have either stalled in the Senate or have failed to jump start the economy. Now he has an economic cause to promote.