US politicians have voted to block a resolution that would have forced President Donald Trump to release his tax returns to Congress.

House Republicans voted en-masse to postpone the resolution indefinitely.

Introducing the measure, Democratic Representative Bill Pascrell of New Jersey said Congress has a responsibility to hold the executive branch "to the highest standard of transparency to ensure the public interest is placed first."

The US president has broken with decades of precedent in refusing to make his returns public – citing on ongoing audit.

Mr Pascrell and other Democrats said the returns would allow lawmakers and the general public decide whether President Trump has any investments in Russia - something he has repeatedly denied.

For the record, I have ZERO investments in Russia.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2016

Democrats have admitted they have no evidence to the contrary but argued that is one of the reasons they are seeking access to the returns.

In 2014 Mr Trump pledged to release his returns if he ever ran for office. Nearly 1.1 million people have signed a White House petition demanding he honour that promise.

On Monday, the Republican-controlled House approved a motion to postpone Mr Pascrell's proposal indefinitely.

The vote was 229 to 185.