WASHINGTON — The White House says President Obama would veto legislation to restrict detainee transfers out of the Guantanamo Bay prison.
Obama spokesman Eric Schultz says the bill introduced by four powerful Republican senators would put “more constraints on a process that should be actually working faster.”
The bill would formally reinstate a ban on transfers to Yemen, among other restrictions during Obama’s remaining two years in office. It would repeal current law that has allowed the administration to transfer prisoners to foreign countries and reduce the population at Guantanamo to 122.
Schultz announced the veto threat in response to a question from reporters flying with Obama on Air Force One to California. He says the president believes Guantanamo’s continued operation weakens U.S. national security and must be closed.
