The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for refusing to turn over documents related to a failed gun-tracking operation.

The 255 to 67 vote finding Holder in criminal and civil contempt has thrust the attorney general into uncharted territory as he faces indictment by Justice Department prosecutors he oversees.

This is the first time a sitting Cabinet member has been found in contempt by Congress, and the GOP-led vote is expected to spark controversy between Democrats and Republicans ahead of the presidential elections in November.

The decision was fueled by Republicans raising questions over Holder’s refusal to submit the Justice Department’s documents regarding a "gun-walking" investigative tactic that was used in an undercover operation called, Fast and Furious, which allowed around two-thousand guns to be smuggled to Mexico to trace the use of firearms among the major drug cartels.