Attorney General Jeff Sessions declined to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on the status of documents related to Operation Fast and Furious currently being withheld by the agency.

The Department of Justice notified the committee neither Sessions nor another department official would testify, and Sessions will not answer written questions addressing if the Trump administration will take an approach to the Operation Fast and Furious investigation that differs from the Obama administration.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the committee's ranking member, sent a letter to the Justice Department last month asking if Sessions plans to reverse the "deliberative process" privilege asserted by the Obama Justice Department over Operation Fast and Furious documents.

Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, sent a separate letter to the department last week inviting Sessions or a replacement to testify. Chaffetz asked Sessions to answer questions about the status of documents pertaining to the committee's probe into Operation Fast and Furious.

In its response to the letter, the Justice Department said it wouldn't be answering questions related to the investigation because of ongoing litigation brought by Chaffetz.