(NewsNation) — Republicans advanced a contempt of Congress charge against Hunter Biden on Wednesday to a full House vote just hours after the president’s son’s surprise visit to a House Oversight Committee hearing.

The House Oversight and Judiciary committees each passed contempt charges against the younger Biden with unanimous Republican support and all Democrats opposed. The action sets up a House vote on recommending criminal charges against a member of President Joe Biden’s family as the GOP moves into the final stages of an impeachment inquiry into the president himself.

If the House votes to hold Hunter Biden in contempt, it will be up to the Department of Justice, specifically the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, to decide whether to prosecute.

The House Oversight Committee was not aware Biden would be in attendance until the very last minute, a committee source told NewsNation.

Fireworks went off at the start of the markup when lawmakers recognized that Biden was in the hearing room. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., asked, “Who bribed Hunter Biden to be here?” and went after him for defying a subpoena.

“You are the epitome of white privilege. Coming into the Oversight Committee, spitting in our face, ignoring a congressional subpoena to be deposed. What are you afraid of? You have no balls to come up here,” she said.

“I think that Hunter Biden should be arrested right here, right now, and go straight to jail,” she added.

Midway through the hearing, Biden stormed out of the chamber, prompting a media pursuit.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga., mocked Biden as he left the courtroom, calling him a coward and claiming he must be afraid of what she has to say.

Lowell addressed the media, saying Biden and his legal team tried to comply in the public but have been getting shut out by House Republicans.

“Hunter Biden was and is a private citizen.  Despite this, Republicans have sought to use him as a surrogate to attack his father,” Lowell said.

He continued, “Ignoring that invitation and proving again that they cared little for the truth and wanted only to ‘move the needle of political support’ that Chairman Comer confessed was his purpose, the Republican chairs have today commandeered an unprecedented resolution to hold someone in contempt who has offered to publicly answer all their proper questions.  What are they afraid of?”

The House Oversight and Judiciary Committees were both voting Wednesday on whether to hold Biden in contempt of Congress for defying a Republican-issued subpoena that ordered his testimony be behind closed doors.

The president’s son said he would only testify publicly in front of Congress.

“This week, our committee will move forward to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress. Hunter Biden violated federal law by defying our subpoena and must be held accountable,” Rep. William Timmons, a GOP Oversight member, said on X.

Biden has defended his lack of compliance with the GOP-issued subpoena, which ordered him to appear for closed-door testimony in mid-December. Biden and his attorneys said information from private interviews can be selectively leaked and manipulated by House Republicans and insisted that he would only testify in public.

Recent history shows us contempt resolutions don’t always mean the subject gets in trouble.

Democrats led efforts to hold four advisers to former President Donald Trump in contempt for failing to comply with subpoenas from the Jan. 6 committee.

Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon ended up being charged by the Justice Department after the recommendations. Their cases have dragged on with Navarro facing sentencing this month and Bannon’s case on appeal.

However, prosecutors declined charges for former chief of staff Mark Meadows and communications aid Dan Scavino.

Under the law, if convicted of a contempt charge from Congress, someone can face up to a year in prison and a possible fine.

On Tuesday, Democrats came to Biden’s defense.

“The question is why won’t the Republicans let the American people hear what Hunter Biden has to say? This is a joke. It’s absurd that they are moving forward with contempt for a witness who is willing to testify. He is willing to cooperate, he is not defying a subpoena,” Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., said. “He is willing to come in and give all the information and answer all the questions that they have.”

The committees’ votes Wednesday on contempt of Congress comes a day before Hunter Biden is scheduled to make his first court appearance on tax charges filed by a special counsel in Los Angeles. He is facing three felony and six misdemeanor counts, including filing a false return, tax evasion, failure to file and failure to pay.

His lawyer has accused David Weiss, the special counsel overseeing the yearslong case, of “bowing to Republican pressure” by bringing the charges.

The Associated Press and The Hill contributed to this report.