WASHINGTON – A House panel voted Wednesday to hold two members of President Donald Trump's Cabinet in contempt for defying subpoenas for census documents, further escalating multiple fights between Congress and the administration.

The Oversight and Reform Committee found Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt, on a bipartisan 24-15 vote, for defying subpoenas for documents about why a citizenship question was added to the 2020 census. The Judiciary Committee had already found Barr in contempt for defying a subpoena for the full report from special counsel Robert Mueller.

Kerri Kupec, a Justice Department spokeswoman, said the committee's vote undermined the Democratic-led committee's credibility with the American people.

“The committee’s attempt to define the Department of Justice’s good-faith cooperation as ‘contempt’ defies logic," Kupec said. "Despite the committee’s political games, the department will remain focused on its critical work safeguarding the American people and upholding the rule of law.”

Ross, in a statement, accused the committee of "flagrant political posturing."

“This is a disappointing day for Congress and our country," he said.

Trump asserted executive privilege Wednesday to keep secret documents about the citizenship question secret.

Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd said in a letter Wednesday that Trump was asserting executive privilege to prevent the release of key documents, including a Dec. 12, 2017, letter to the U.S. Census Bureau. Trump also protectively asserted executive privilege over the rest of the subpoenaed documents, while officials determine whether they should be kept secret, Boyd said.

“It appears to be another example of the administration’s blanket defiance,” said Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., who noted the bipartisan subpoenas were issued more than two months ago. “This begs the question: what is being hidden?”

But Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the top Republican on the committee, said Democrats were moving urgently on the contempt vote in an attempt to influence the Supreme Court, which is considering a case dealing with the census question.

“This is just another attempt to muddy the waters,” Jordan said. “It’s not what we should be doing.”

The Constitution calls for the census to count everyone in the country every decade. The administration's decision to ask people whether they are citizens in 2020 has been contentious because of Democratic concerns it could discourage participation. Republicans said the census included a citizenship question from 1820 to 1950, along with the question appearing on more detailed forms in more recent decades.

The census is important because it counts the population once a decade to apportion seats in Congress, providing figures to map House districts and contributing to enforcement of the Voting Rights Act by showing the Justice Department where minorities live. The population figures are also used throughout government to divide billions in federal spending each year.

The Supreme Court, which has called the census "the linchpin of the federal statistical system," heard a case about the citizenship question in April and a ruling is expected by the end of June. The court will basically decide whether Ross had ample reason to ask about citizenship, followed acceptable procedures and acted within the bounds of the Constitution.

“It’s going to intimidate and discourage,” said Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va. “This isn’t just a fight between the executive and legislative branch. This is about the future of our democratic process.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said Cummings had tried to negotiate a compromise for the documents, but was thwarted by the administration.

“All we get from the administration is a middle finger," Raskin said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Tuesday the citizenship question threatened “to put a chilling effect on us getting an accurate count.”

But Trump has said he will defy subpoenas because the multiple House inquiries amount to presidential harassment. House Republicans have argued that Democrats are moving too hastily to find officials in contempt and to file federal lawsuits, rather than spending more time negotiating with the Justice Department for contested documents.

"The record before the committee does not support contempt of Congress at this time,” Jordan said Tuesday in a letter to Cummings. “If you were serious about getting to the facts on the Administration's decision to reinstitute a citizenship question on the 2020 Census, you should attempt to obtain the information from other sources before rushing to contempt of Congress."

Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., said the contempt vote represented unnecessary divisiveness in the government.

“This is the legislative branch of government, not the harass and attack branch of government, and this committee should not succumb to the level of vitriol and division that we witness unnecessarily across our nation," Higgins said.

The census fight followed a House vote Tuesday to authorize lawsuits to enforce subpoenas against Barr for the full Mueller report and underlying documents, and against former White House counsel Don McGahn. The House also agreed to ease the approval of lawsuits to enforce subpoenas. Traditionally, the full House voted to authorize lawsuits, but the resolution adopted in a party-line vote allowed a five-member leadership group controlled by Democrats to approve lawsuits.

The House already is locked in a pair of court fights with Trump over subpoenas for his financial records. Two federal judges rejected Trump's efforts to block the subpoenas, and the president has appealed, arguing that "Congress is simply not allowed to conduct law-enforcement investigations of the president."

More about the congressional fight over the citizenship question in the census:

Inside Trump administration's mysterious plan to secure a 2020 census citizenship question

'We're fighting all the subpoenas.' Congress and Trump prepare to battle over wide-ranging probes

'Slow-motion constitutional car crash': Trump, Congress battle over investigations with no end in sight