US Attorney General William Barr has refused to testify to the Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee on his handling of the Russia inquiry.
Mr Barr had previously objected to a plan for lawyers to ask questions at Thursday’s hearing.
Committee chairman Jerrold Nadler accused the White House of a “complete stonewalling of Congress”.
The standoff raises the prospect that Mr Barr, America’s top legal official, could be held in contempt of Congress.
The Justice Department also said that it would not comply with a subpoena issued by Mr Nadler asking for an unredacted version of Mr Mueller’s report as well as files from the investigation.
On Wednesday, Mr Barr was grilled by a Senate panel about his decision to clear President Donald Trump of obstruction of justice.
His defence of his actions before the Republican-led Senate Justice Committee came after Special Counsel Robert Mueller – who led the investigative hunt for links between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia – expressed frustration over the report summary.
Mr Mueller is expected to testify to Congress later this month.
A Department of Justice statement said Mr Nadler had placed conditions on the House Judiciary Committee hearing that were “unprecedented and unnecessary”.
The department said that the planned move to have attorneys question Mr Barr was unnecessary because most of the committee members were themselves lawyers.
However, Mr Nadler told reporters he believed that Mr Barr was afraid to testify on Thursday given “how dishonest he has been”.
“He is terrified of having to face a skilled attorney,” he said, adding: “We plan on subpoenaing him if he decides not to show up. He can run but he can’t hide.”
“I hope and expect that the attorney general will think overnight and will be there as well,” Mr Nadler said.
