The Senate passed a bill that bans moving Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States — something Barack Obama has been trying to do since he was sworn in as president.
The Senate voted Tuesday on the $607 billion defense policy bill, which passed the House last week, 370-58. Tuesday's Senate vote was 91-3.
The bill, which also explicitly prohibits the Obama administration from transferring Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States or using funds to build or modify a prison in the United States to house those detainees, now goes to President Obama's desk for his signature. Many Republicans believe that even if President Obama signs the bill into law, he may still decide to move detainees from Guantanamo Bay to the United States, citing his disregard for the review period required by law before the detainee transfer that was done in exchange for the return of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in 2014.
The legislation has become a lightning rod for debate over whether the president needs congressional approval to move some of the remaining 112 detainees from the US detention center in Cuba to the United States, or if he could do it with an executive order.