On Thursday, the House of Representatives narrowly failed to pass a resolution that would begin fining Attorney General Merrick Garland $10,000 every day he refused to answer a congressional subpoena.

As Axios reports, the resolution was introduced by Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), and was defeated by a margin of 204 votes in favor to 210 votes against. Four Republicans sided with all Democrats in opposition: Congressmen John Duarte (R-Calif.), David Joyce (R-Ohio), Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), and Mike Turner (R-Ohio). The resolution was further handicapped by the absence of a dozen Republicans, which thus reduced the threshold for a majority and made it easier for a small handful of defectors to sink the measure.

Congresswoman Luna introduced the measure, which also would have held Garland in “inherent contempt,” following Garland’s refusal to obey a subpoena demanding that he hand over the audio recordings of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview with Joe Biden. The House Judiciary Committee has already filed a lawsuit demanding access to the same tapes. The House had previously passed a contempt of Congress resolution against Garland last month, making him only the third Cabinet Secretary in history to be held in contempt.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had previously argued against introducing the resolution due to the risk of taking media focus away from ongoing tensions and divisions within the Democratic Party over Joe Biden’s age and mental health concerns. Nevertheless, Speaker Johnson voted in favor of the measure. Johnson aimed to project an image of unity as the Republican Party prepares for its national convention in Milwaukee next week, with presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump expected to announce his running mate pick imminently.

But Luna remained defiant, issuing a statement on the floor saying that ​​”in spite of what my colleagues may think, this is not a stupid idea but actually our constitutional duty and it is well within the scope of our legislative authority to assert the House’s power in this manner.”

Among the four Republican defectors, Joyce had previously been the sole Republican to vote against the original contempt resolution against Garland, which ultimately passed. McClintock had also been one of only three Republicans to vote against impeaching Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, doing so both times the resolution was introduced.