Story highlights Paul has been leading the fight in Congress to pull federal funding for Planned Parenthood

Paul also touched upon his foreign policy views and Donald Trump

Washington (CNN) Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul refused to say Sunday whether he supports the efforts of some Senate Republicans to threaten a government shutdown over federal funding of Planned Parenthood.

"I support any legislation that will defund Planned Parenthood. But I don't think you start out with your objective to shut down government," Paul told CNN's Jake Tapper in an interview aired Sunday on "State of the Union."

Paul introduced a bill to defund Planned Parenthood this week after the release of videos that accuse the nonprofit of selling fetal tissue.

The number of lawmakers calling for the government to stop giving hundreds of millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood is growing. On Thursday, 18 lawmakers sent a letter to Republican leadership calling for the organization's funding to be tied to spending legislation and vowed not to support any spending bill until the nonprofit no longer receives government funds.

"I mean if President Obama wants to shut down government because he doesn't get funds for Planned Parenthood, that would be President Obama's determination to shut down government," Paul told Tapper.

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