The Republican-run House voted Thursday to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, protesting his refusal to turn over documents related to the "Fast and Furious" gun-trafficking investigation.

GOP lawmakers cast Holder as an obstructionist in the probe of a botched operation that contributed to the death of a border patrol agent; Holder and White House officials said they have provided thousands of documents, and denounced the vote as pure politics.

Speaking to reporters while on a trip to New Orleans, Holder called the vote a "regrettable culmination of what became a misguided -- and politically motivated -- investigation during an election year." White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer described it as "a transparently political stunt."

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who initiated the contempt action as the leader of the House investigation into the federal gun-trafficking operation, said the vote was "not the outcome I had sought.''

"It could have been avoided had Attorney General Holder actually produced the subpoenaed documents he said he would provide,'' Issa said. "Claims by the Justice Department that it has fully cooperated with this investigation fall at odds with its conduct.''

Holder is the first sitting attorney general to be held in contempt of Congress.

The House vote came after a walkout by more than 100 Democratic lawmakers who refused to vote, including the 42-member Congressional Black Caucus.

"The Republican leadership has articulated no legislative purpose for pursuing this course of action," said a letter from the caucus to colleagues. "For these reasons, we cannot and will not participate in a vote to hold the attorney general in contempt."

The House voted largely along partisan lines to hold the attorney general in both criminal and civil contempt.

The criminal citation will sent on to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia -- who works for Holder.

The civil contempt allows the House to sue Holder in court in an attempt to get the documents in question.

Seventeen Democrats voted with Republicans in favor of criminal contempt; just two Republicans voted in opposition.

In scheduling the vote, House Republican leaders criticized Holder for declining to release documents related to the botched gun-trafficking investigation known as Operation Fast and Furious.

"We'd really rather have the attorney general and the president work with us to get to the bottom of a very serious issue," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "Unfortunately, they're not willing to show the American people the truth about what happened. It's an unfortunate place where we are."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the vote a "misuse of power, an abuse of power.''

Pelosi said the Republicans are trying to intimidate Holder and the Justice Department over some of its actions, including lawsuits against states that have passed voter ID laws.

"It is the wrong thing to do,'' Pelosi said. "After him (Holder), who's next?''

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who has assisted the House investigation of the botched gun-trafficking operation at the heart of the contempt vote, said the Justice Department has been proven to be unreliable.

"The only way to try to get an accurate, complete account of what happened is to obtain every possible record and account of the facts," Grassley said.

The vote took place on a momentous day, just hours after the Supreme Court upheld President Obama's health care law.

Republicans say they want to know more about what went wrong with Fast and Furious, which allowed hundreds of firearms purchased at U.S. gun stores to stream into Mexico as part of a failed attempt to track weapons to Mexican drug cartel leaders. Two of the weapons traced to the operation were found at the scene of the shooting death of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.

Holder himself has kept a low profile in recent days, although he did show up last night at the annual White House congressional picnic -- an event that included some of the House Republicans who will be voting on him today.

In his comments today, Holder said Republicans "have focused on politics over public safety."

He added: "Instead of trying to correct the problems that led to a series of flawed law enforcement operations -- and instead of helping us find ways to better protect the brave law enforcement officers, like Agent Brian Terry, who keep us safe – they have led us to this unnecessary and unwarranted outcome."