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A House Judiciary Committee has voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for failing to provide requested audio recordings of President Joe Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur.

The committee’s 18-15 party-line vote came as Republicans on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee prepared to take similar action. Garland criticized the “unfounded attacks” by congressional Republicans on the Justice Department, rejecting their request for audio recordings related to Biden’s handling of classified records. He added that this was a “political attack” on the DOJ and it was “unprecedented.”

In a letter to the chairmen of the House Judiciary and Oversight committees, the Justice Department asserted executive privilege over the recordings. Despite President Biden’s last-minute claim of executive privilege, the GOP proceeded with the contempt measure, with Garland noting that those asserting privilege “cannot be prosecuted for criminal contempt of Congress.”

Republicans, who already possess the transcript of Hur’s conversation with Biden, argue that the audio recordings could reveal more about Biden’s cognitive functions and Hur’s commentary. Democrats, however, argued that the GOP seeks the tapes for political gain, to use in campaign commercials. Despite this, Republicans argue that “transcripts do not capture demeanor evidence,” arguing for the necessity of the recordings.

The contempt resolution now heads to the full House for consideration. The move, seen as symbolic, acts as a referral to the Justice Department, which must decide whether to pursue charges—a scenario deemed unlikely as the DOJ had previously declined to share the files.