Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and John Thune (R-S.D.), the Senate Majority Leader, released statements on Tuesday opposing U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to free 11 detainees from Guantánamo Bay.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced the resettlement on Jan. 6 of the 11 Yemeni men from the detention facility at Guantánamo to the government of Oman.
“In the wake of an ISIS-inspired terror attack in New Orleans last week, it is appalling that President Biden would pursue an 11th-hour attempt to release the same detainees that were rejected for transfer on a bipartisan basis in 2023 after Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel,” Thune stated.
“This release unnecessarily jeopardizes our national security, and the American people deserve better from our nation’s leaders,” he said.
Thune called on Biden “to halt any plans to release the additional Guantanamo detainees during the final days of his administration.”
“ISIS just inspired a terrorist attack in New Orleans, yet Joe Biden wants to release 11 terrorists on his way out the door, adding to his sorry legacy of coddling America’s enemies and endangering our people,” Cotton said.
The Defense Department stated that the release of the 11 men was part of “ongoing U.S. efforts focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantánamo Bay facility.”
Currently, 15 detainees remain at Guantánamo, the fewest since 2002.
