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By Niels Lesniewski Posted at 2:11 p.m. on Jan. 10, 2015

(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

At least one of the Senates 2016 contenders is bailing on the big House-Senate Republican conference gathering next week in Hershey, Pa.

An aide to Sen. Rand Paul confirmed the Kentucky Republican would not attend the retreat the first joint gathering of the majorities on both sides of the Rotunda.

CQ Roll Call asked the Paul aide about a report the senator would be traveling to New Hampshire, Arizona and Nevada the second half of next week (including time that overlaps with the congressional retreat). The aide emphasized in an email the senators schedule would not require him to miss any business at the Capitol itself.

Sen. Paul was elected to represent Kentucky in the Senate. He will not be missing any Senate votes or committee business next week, the aide said.

Still, the scheduling conflicts highlight an emerging challenge for the new Senate majority, as several senators, including Paul, Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, are considering presidential bids.

Cruz is scheduled to attend the retreat, an aide told CQ Roll Call. Rubios office did not immediate respond to a request about his plans.

Plans for the joint retreat between Republicans in the two chambers were publicly confirmed at thebeginning of December.

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Rand Paul Skipping Joint Republican Retreat

The Kentucky Republican said Thursday that intelligence and surveillance tactics should still be employed to prevent terrorism, but argued "there's some policy changes, though, that could be better."

"I think also you got to secure your country. That means maybe that every Muslim immigrant that wishes to come to France shouldn't have an open door to come," he said on Sean Hannity's radio show, referring to Islamic radicalization in Europe.

Charlie Hebdo shooting: Who are the suspects?

Paul suggested such policy be considered by France and "many of these other countries that had old colonies in predominantly Muslim areas."

But the two suspects in the Charlie Hebdo shooting -- Cherif Kouachi and Said Kouachi -- are French citizens who were known to the country's security services, according to officials.

Waves of Muslim immigrants from former French colonies in North Africa flocked to France in the 1960s after a wave of decolonization and a liberalization of France's immigration policies in the 1980s gave way to a new wave of Muslim immigrants from the region.

Today, most of France's Muslim population are French nationals. And higher birth rates among Muslim immigrants are largely responsible for the growth in the country's Muslim population. That growth -- mirrored not just in France but across Europe -- coupled with a struggling economy, has contributed to the growth of far right parties, fueled by anti-immigrant sentiment.

Why are so many young French people turning to jihad?

Paul, a potential presidential contender, argued that "it's also my concern here," saying the U.S. border "is a danger to attack" and criticizing what he described as a poorly monitored student visa program.

"So there are a lot of lessons here that we need to continue to learn," he continued.

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Rand Paul questions French immigration policy for Muslims

WASHINGTON (WDRB) -- Will he or won't he? Kentucky U.S. Senator Rand Paul is inching towards a decision about running for the White House.

Rand Paul has been acting like a presidential candidate for months. He insists he has still not decided, but that decision is getting closer.

"March, April probably. I don't think it's going to be earlier than that,"Paul told WDRB during an interview in his Capitol Hill office. "But I hate to pin it down and say a date because we haven't made a decision yet, nor do we absolutely know it's going to be a certain time."

Rand Paul knows time is running short if he wants to be a serious contender for the White House in 2016.

"It's still a family discussion as well as just kind of getting beyond this election cycle and seeing how the next one plays out," he said.

It promises to be a crowded field. Paul predicts at least ten Republicans will jump into the race.

"And we'll see if we think we're in the mix of that, and can win. I don't want to do it just to do it, we want to do it because we actually think we can win," said Paul.

Paul has always said family considerations will play a large role, but his wife Kelley is also raising her public profile. She is now on tour promoting her new book, butrecently told cn2's Pure Politics thatmaking the leap to potential First Lady is a tough decision.

"Obviously, I think, anyone goes into this with some trepidation because you're really putting yourself out there on a national level," she told cn2.

Complicating things is the fact that Rand Paul is also running to return to Capitol Hill, where Republicans now control the Senate. He believes the state party will get around a law that prevents him from appearing on the ballot twice. The potential solution -do away with Kentucky's Republican presidential primary.

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Sen. Rand Paul looking at presidential announcement in March or April

Editors note: Follow government reporter Katie Brandenburg weekly as she tracks U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a Bowling Green Republican, possibly on his way to a run for the White House.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., waded into foreign relations this week, making his opinions known about a terrorist attack in France and the continued conflict between Israel and Palestinians.

The senator has often been painted as an isolationist but seems to be working to step away from that characterization as he contemplates a run for president.

In an interview Thursday with Sean Hannity, Paul weighed in on an attack Wednesday on the French publication Charlie Hebdo that left 12 people dead.

The Associated Press reported Friday that the two brothers responsible for the attack and an associate were killed, along with at least four people who had been held as hostages. Sixteen other hostages were freed Friday one from a printing plant and another 15 from a grocery.

On Thursday, Paul questioned immigration policy in France, Bloomberg News reported.

Maybe every Muslim immigrant that wishes to come to France shouldnt have an open door, he reportedly said.

Paul also said Muslims need to be involved in the struggle against groups such as the Islamic State, Bloomberg reported.

There need to be civilized members of Islam who do step forward, Paul reportedly said. I want to see every one of them on the front lines.

During the interview, Paul also criticized Western publications that decided not to publish Charlie Hebdo cartoons criticized as being anti-Islam, Bloomberg reported.

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Paul weighs in on foreign policy issues

Rand Paul to introduce a bill to end the $440 million in taxpayer money that go to the Palestinians
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Rand Paul to introduce a bill to end the $440 million in taxpayer money that go to the Palestinians - Video