Washington(CNN) The House passed legislation Thursday that would prohibit the transfer of any of the remaining detainees from Guantanamo Bay to the US homeland or any foreign country.
The move comes the day after a new intelligence report revealed that two more former inmates have returned to terrorist activity since being released.
The twin developments further set back the administration's efforts to close Guantanamo, an early pledge of President Barack Obama. However, the White House is continuing to express optimism that the goal will be reached despite the administration's dwindling time in office.
While the latest bill passed largely along party lines and is unlikely to move forward in the Senate, it signals a continued resistance to the administration's efforts to reduce the prison population. Capitol Hill's unwillingness to allow detainees to be housed in the United States has posed a major obstacle as the White House tries to find homes for the 61 remaining Guantanamo prisoners.
"For the president, this is about keeping a campaign promise. For us, this is about keeping Americans safe," House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, said in a statement following the bill's passage Thursday.
He also seized on the latest example of detainees' recidivism to press the case that no one else should be released: "The news that two more former Guantanamo detainees have returned to the fight underscores the need for this action."
Inside Guantanamo Bay
A DJ from Radio GTMO, the radio station at the US Navy base on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, replaces photos of the Obama administration with photos of the Trump administration on Friday, January 27. President Barack Obama signed an executive order on January 22, 2009, to close
the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay within a year. Eight years later, the prison for terrorism suspects remains open, with 41 detainees as of January 2017. President Donald Trump stated during the 2016 campaign that he would keep the prison facility open.
The base at Guantanamo Bay has held
terror suspects since January 2002. Early in the war on terror, the Bush administration argued these detainees were "enemy combatants" who didn't have the protections accorded to prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. Here, a detainee stands at an interior fence in October 2009.
A Navy sailor surveys the base in October 2009. In December 2013, Congress
passed a defense-spending bill that makes it easier to transfer detainees out of the facility.
US military guards move a detainee inside the detention center in September 2010. At its peak, the detainee population exceeded 750 men.
A military doctor holds a feeding tube used to feed detainees on a hunger strike in June 2013. In March 2013, the US military announced that dozens of detainees had begun a hunger strike. By that June,
more than 100 detainees were on a hunger strike, and more than 40 were being force-fed, military officials said.
Muslim detainees kneel during early morning prayers in October 2009. Cells are marked with an arrow pointing in the direction of Mecca, which is regarded as Islam's holy city.
A soldier stands near the fence line in January 2012.
A Quran sits among a display of items issued to detainees in September 2010. The suspects are given a prayer mat and a copy of the Muslim holy book as well as a toothbrush, soap, shampoo and clothing.
A guard walks out of the maximum-security section of the detention center in September 2010.
A police dog undergoes training exercises in October 2009.
A camp librarian views artwork painted by detainees in September 2010.
A detainee rubs his face while attending a "life skills" class in April 2009.
A seat and shackle await a detainee in the DVD room of a maximum-security detention center in March 2010.
US Marines join in martial-arts training in September 2010.
Members of the military walk the hallway of Cell Block C in the Camp 5 detention facility in January 2012.
Guards move a detainee from his cell in Cell Block A of the Camp 6 detention facility in January 2012.
A detainee waits for lunch in September 2010. The cost of building Guantanamo's high-security detention facilities was reportedly about $54 million.
Marines get an early morning workout in October 2009.
A bus carries military guards from their night shift in September 2010.
A military guard puts on gloves before moving a detainee in September 2010.
Members of the military move down the hallway of Cell Block C in the Camp 5 detention facility in January 2012.
A guard holds shackles before preparing to move a detainee in September 2010.
An American flag flies over Camp 6 at Guantanamo in June 2013.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which tracks recidivism among former inmates, said Wednesday that the intelligence community has confirmed that two more detainees released since Obama took office have returned to "terrorist activities" since its last review, published in March. Intelligence officials would not say who the two inmates were or what actions they had undertaken.
According to the new document, nine of 161 inmates released since January 2009 fall have returned to supporting terror groups. An additional 11 are "suspected" of having gone back to terrorist activity, though the report notes that the Defense Intelligence Agency puts that number at 15.
During the George W. Bush administration, 113 of 532 released prisoners were confirmed to have reengaged in terrorism, the report said.
The largest detainee transfer under Obama took place in August, with 15 inmates going to the UAE. The prison's dwindling population recently caused military officials to close one of the detention camps and consolidate the remaining inmates.
Despite the hardened congressional opposition, Obama projected optimism during a news conference last week in Asia.
Obama said that he was "not ready to concede" that the detention facility may remain open after his time in office. "We're still working diligently to continue to shrink the population."
He added, "It's a tough road to haul, but, you know, I expect to work really hard over the next four months."