Sen. Pat Roberts headed off an attempt by Sen. John McCain to move the nomination of the top Army civilian forward on Thursday, over concerns that the Guantanamo Bay prison will be moved to Kansas.
Roberts said he has yet to receive assurance from the Obama administration — verbal or otherwise — that it won’t try to close prison facility at Guantanamo Bay through executive action and attempt to bring the remaining detainees to Fort Leavenworth, Kan. He has placed a hold on the nomination of Eric Fanning to be the next Army secretary.
The Kansas Republican told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday that he regrets that Fanning is the victim in his feud with the White House, but said he cannot relent because the issue is too important for his constituents back home.
McCain tried to move the nomination forward Thursday but Roberts objected, continuing his hold on Fanning’s nomination. “Let me be very clear on this — as a veteran, a Marine — I support Mr. Eric Fanning for this post. If the White House calls and assures me that terrorists held at Guantanamo will not come to Fort Leavenworth, I will release the hold — immediately,” Roberts said.
“As I have publicly stated from the beginning, to Mr. Fanning, former Army Secretary [John] McHugh, and Defense Secretary [Ash] Carter, my quarrel is not with the nominee, but with the president.”
Roberts said the president’s intention to bring Gitmo detainees to the mainland is against the law, including the National Defense Authorization Act of 2016.
“I understand the senator from Arizona’s concerns. But any anger should be directed at a White House that ignores laws written and introduced by the senator from Arizona himself,” Roberts said.
“With this hold, I have used one of the tools afforded to me as a U.S. senator, and I will continue to do everything in my power to fulfill my obligations to protect the national security of the United States. It is what Kansans expect and demand of me.”
Senators have the power to place indefinite holds on bills and nominees. Roberts also maintains a hold on Jennifer O’Connor, the president’s nominee to be the general counsel of the Department of Defense.
