Sen. Tom Cotton said that he hopes President Barack Obama does not make any more decisions about the prison population at Guantanamo Bay in the last days of his administration.
The Arkansas Republican said he hoped Obama would defer to incoming president Donald Trump regarding the prison, during an interview on "Fox and Friends."
"I've been struck since the election, not only at Donald Trump's magnanimous tone, but also Barack Obama's gracious beginning of the transfer of power. I would hope that President Obama wouldn't take that kind of dramatic action, contrary to the president-elect's wishes. President Bush did not do that when President Obama was coming into office," Cotton said.
Cotton said the prison would not be closed.
"It might be empty or its population might be reduced, but it will remain open and it will remain a critical tool in our global war against terror," he said.
President-elect Trump has said he would not close the prison, and in April said he would make it bigger.
"We're going to load it up with some bad dudes," Trump said.
Business Insider reported that Obama noted his struggle to close the prison.
"It is true that I have not been able to close the darn thing, because of the congressional restrictions that have been placed on us. What is also true is we have greatly reduced the population."