The US House of Representatives voted on Tuesday night to refer former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to the Justice Department for a potential criminal charge over his refusal to answer questions about the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, NBC News reported.
Lawmakers passed the measure largely along party lines by a 222-208 vote. Two Republicans voted with Democrats: Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois.
The House vote came one day after the select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot recommended that the House hold Meadows in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena.
Meadows, a former House member from North Carolina, initially provided numerous documents to the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot before deciding against further engagement, claiming executive privilege.
Meadows is one of four Trump allies who were subpoenaed by the committee in September but has refused to cooperate. Last month, the committee threatened Meadows with a criminal contempt referral, and later signaled it would pursue a criminal contempt referral.
Meadows then sued the select committee, asking a federal court to block enforcement of the subpoena the committee issued him as well as the subpoena it issued to Verizon for his phone records.
The House has already voted to hold former White House senior advisor Steve Bannon in contempt for his own noncompliance with a subpoena issued by the January 6 panel. A federal grand jury subsequently charged Bannon with two counts of contempt of Congress.