Congress would “go to court” if President Obama tries to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by executive action, Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain said Tuesday.
The Arizona Republican said closing the prison without submitting a plan to Congress for approval would be outlawed by legislation senators sent to the president Tuesday, which White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the president would sign. But the White House has been hinting for days that Obama may act on his own to close the prison if Congress does not approve its proposal.
McCain said that would be unacceptable. “Of course it’s not in his authority,” he said. “It’s pretty clear.”
When asked what recourse lawmakers would have, he replied: “Go to court. That’s all we can do is go to court.”
McCain was one of a handful of Republican lawmakers allied with Obama in efforts to close the military prison and transfer its detainees elsewhere, but has hardened his position because of concerns about the risks posed by freed detainees, especially in light of the rise of the Islamic State as a threat to U.S. interests. Fearing a rush to empty the prison, he and other lawmakers inserted a provision in the annual defense policy bill requiring the White House to submit a detailed plan for closing the prison.
Lawmakers are expecting the plan to be submitted this week, and it’s already running into trouble.
Noting that he had heard the administration would provide options for holding the detainees in the United States, McCain said the legislation requires a single proposal.
“How am I supposed to consider five or six different places?” he asked. “That’s not a plan, that’s a Chinese menu.”
