House Republicans on Wednesday formally asked Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to begin a criminal investigation of Lois Lerner, the former Internal Revenue Service official caught up in the scandal over political targeting of Tea Party groups.
The Ways and Means Committee’s 23-to-14 vote along party lines was the latest move by Republicans to refocus attention on the I.R.S. controversy, and it was the first of two actions the House is expected to take this week to demand that federal prosecutors look more deeply into Ms. Lerner’s conduct.