Scott: Obama Trades Military Readiness for Political Points on Guantanamo

Washington – U.S. Senator Tim Scott released the statement below following President Barack Obama’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this afternoon. As part of his statement vetoing the bill, President Obama specifically cited his disagreement with language in the NDAA that would keep terrorists from being transferred to domestic soil.

“We already knew the President’s goal of closing the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility and moving dangerous terrorists to domestic soil is horribly misguided; unfortunately, we now also know he is willing to risk fully supporting our troops with the resources they need in order to score political points,” Scott said. “The NDAA has been signed into law annually for decades, because even a divided Washington understands that standing behind our troops is essential to their mission and America’s security. I am shocked that the President would take such an irresponsible step in order to try and fulfill a political promise, and I will continue to use every tool at my disposal to block the transfer of dangerous terrorists from Guantanamo to American soil.”

Senator Scott will be traveling to Guantanamo Bay in the coming days, along with Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV), to review detention operations at the base. Since the White House announced that South Carolina and Kansas were among the potential destinations for terrorists transferred from Guantanamo earlier this year, Senator Scott has led the charge against this dangerous plan and ensured language prohibiting transfers to domestic locations remained in the NDAA.