Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday blocked multiple efforts by Democrats to subpoena documents from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's White House tenure.

The Democratic efforts were defeated in party-line votes by the panel, where Republicans hold the majority.

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Sen. John Cornyn John CornynThe Hill's Campaign Report: GOP set to ask SCOTUS to limit mail-in voting Liberal super PAC launches ads targeting vulnerable GOP senators over SCOTUS fight Senate GOP faces pivotal moment on pick for Supreme Court MORE (R-Texas), the No. 2 Senate Republican, warned that nominations could be held up for years if the committee started issuing subpoenas.

"I believe it would be a mistake for the committee to issue a subpoena, thus setting up a court case which could go on literally for years," Cornyn said.

Democrats offered six subpoenas in total, including for documents from Kavanaugh's work as a staff secretary in the George W. Bush administration, as well as more than 100,000 pages that the Trump administration asked to withhold from the panel.

The first demand for a subpoena came from Sen. Dianne Feinstein Dianne Emiel FeinsteinFeinstein 'surprised and taken aback' by suggestion she's not up for Supreme Court fight Democrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court Biden leads Trump by 12 points among Catholic voters: poll MORE (D-Calif.), who wanted the committee to force the National Archives to hand over Kavanaugh's staff secretary documents.

Feinstein, the top Democrat on the committee, questioned what are "Republicans hiding" by not requesting the documents.

"I move for the committee to authorize the issuance of a subpoena for the National Archives for records from Judge Kavanaugh's service as staff secretary in the White House from 2003 to 2006," Feinstein said.

Sen. Mazie Hirono Mazie Keiko HironoManchin defends Supreme Court candidate Barrett: 'It's awful to bring in religion' Democrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court Democrats unveil plan declaring racism a public health issue MORE (D-Hawaii) also tried to get a subpoena for documents from Kavanaugh's time as staff secretary that related to any work on Native Hawaiian, Alaskan Native and Native American issues.

She added that during Kavanaugh's time as staff secretary, the Bush administration was "confronted with issues relating to Native Hawaiian rights."

Sen. Dick Durbin Richard (Dick) Joseph DurbinFeinstein 'surprised and taken aback' by suggestion she's not up for Supreme Court fight Grand jury charges no officers in Breonna Taylor death Democrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court MORE (D-Ill.), meanwhile, asked for a subpoena for documents from the National Archives related to any advice Kavanaugh may have given on torture during the Bush administration.

Durbin warned that the Republican handling of Kavanaugh's nomination underscored the "deterioration" of the committee's bipartisan record.

"We are a whisper, a shell, of what this committee once was," Durbin said.

And Sen. Christopher Coons Christopher (Chris) Andrew CoonsMurkowski: Supreme Court nominee should not be taken up before election Battle lines drawn on precedent in Supreme Court fight Sunday shows - Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death dominates MORE (D-Del.) wanted to subpoena the National Archives for documents that shed light on Kavanaugh's view on executive power.

"I am significantly concerned about his views on presidential power," Coons said.

Coons specifically wanted documents related to Kavanaugh's views on whether a president can be investigated or if he could fire a special counsel.

Democrats and outside groups have repeatedly expressed alarm that Kavanaugh, if confirmed, would try to protect President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE from any cases that spin out of special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE's investigation and reach the Supreme Court.

Kavanaugh told senators during his confirmation hearing that he did not believe a president is "above the law," but repeatedly dodged about specific questions on subpoenas, the limits of a president's pardon abilities or if he would recuse himself from Trump- or Mueller-related cases.

In addition to the staff secretary documents, Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar Amy KlobucharSocial media platforms put muscle into National Voter Registration Day Battle lines drawn on precedent in Supreme Court fight Sunday shows - Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death dominates MORE (Minn.) and Sheldon Whitehouse Sheldon WhitehouseFeinstein 'surprised and taken aback' by suggestion she's not up for Supreme Court fight Hillicon Valley: Murky TikTok deal raises questions about China's role | Twitter investigating automated image previews over apparent algorithmic bias | House approves bill making hacking federal voting systems a crime House approves legislation making hacking voting systems a federal crime MORE (R.I.) also offered a motion to subpoena records from Kavanaugh's time as a White House lawyer over which the Trump administration has exercised constitutional privilege, preventing them from being released to senators.

Klobuchar said it was "outrageous" that senators had not been told why the documents were being held.

"We think it's outrageous we're not even given the reason why they were withheld," she said.

Whitehouse added that lawmakers were entering "foggy and dangerous territory" on executive privilege.

"They don't even call it executive privilege. They call it something called constitutional privilege," he said. "Who the hell knows what that is? That's never been litigated before."

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who tried to adjourn Thursday's meeting, requested that the committee subpoena Bush administration officials and former Senate officials over a 2002 "hack" of Senate Democratic files.

Manny Miranda, one of the officials Blumenthal wanted to subpoena, is accused of improperly accessing Senate Democratic files and then distributing the information to White House and other Senate Republican staffers.

Blumenthal argued that their testimony was "vital" to helping "resolve key questions of fact that were raised in the hearing and that documents that have been released."

--Updated at 12:09 p.m.