Senators on Thursday rejected a push by Sen. Rand Paul Randal (Rand) Howard PaulSecond GOP senator to quarantine after exposure to coronavirus GOP senator to quarantine after coronavirus exposure The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by National Industries for the Blind - Trump seeks to flip 'Rage' narrative; Dems block COVID-19 bill MORE to tie a battle over accepting refugees in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks to an ObamaCare repeal bill.

Senators voted 10-89 on the amendment from the Kentucky Republican, who is running for president. Sixty votes were needed for the amendment to be adopted.

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Paul's amendment would place a "pause" on issuing visas to more than 30 countries that the senator said are "at a high risk for exporting terrorists."

It would also require that individuals from countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program to either wait 30 days before coming to the United States or go through enhanced background and security checks, as well as requiring the government to perform additional screening on any admited refugees.

"We spend hundreds of billions of dollars defending our country, and yet we cannot truly defend our country unless we defend our border," the Kentucky Republican said ahead of the vote. "I would urge senators who truly do want to defend our country to have increased border security by voting for this amendment."

"I hate to say this about my good friend from Kentucky, but this is a bumper sticker kind of amendment. It says to keep us secure, it would stop even tourists from visiting this country for at least 30 days."

Lawmakers have struggled with how to tackle the administration's plan to increase the number of refugees in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks.

While House Republicans — and dozens of Democrats — backed legislation that would "pause" the acceptance of Syrian and Iraqi refugees until the administration can certify that they aren't a national security threat, Senate Democrats have vowed to block the legislation in the upper chamber.