Under pressure to demonstrate a renewed commitment to shutter the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, President Obama has tapped a high-powered Washington attorney as one of two special envoys dedicated to brokering a deal to close the facility.

Obama chose Clifford Sloan, an attorney with extensive experience in all three branches of government, to reopen the State Department’s Office of Guantanamo Closure, which has been in limbo and effectively shuttered since the administration gave up attempts to close the prison in the face of ardent opposition in Congress, according to an Associated Press report. A formal announcement is expected Monday.