Obama, GOP brace for battle over Gitmo

President Obama's next big political battle with congressional Republicans may well concern the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Republicans say they will continue to block any Obama effort to move Gitmo detainees to the United States, especially if the president attempts to do so via executive action.

The administration is preparing a revamped plan on closing the Gitmo prison, and have not ruled out the prospect of executive action.

"That is a question for lawyers to answer," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. "But as the President's spokesman here, I'm certainly not going to take anything off the table in terms of him doing everything that he can to make progress on a national security priority that he's identified."

There are 112 inmates remaining at Gitmo.

The administration's plan would call for sending some detainees to other countries and for putting others on trial. The remaining prisoners, considered the most dangerous, would be transferred to facilities in the United States, though that is a step congressional Republicans have opposed in the past.

Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, said he would block any Obama nomination of any public official if the president tries to use executive action on Gitmo.

"Congress has consistently stopped Obama by law from moving a single detainee to the U.S," Roberts said. "And this would be an egregious overstep by the administration ignoring the will of the American people to accomplish the president's legacy goals."