WASHINGTON
U.S. defense officials are currently assessing a South Carolina facility to determine if it could be used to house prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, the Pentagon said Thursday.
"They're assessing the cost, as well, of what it would take to retrofit that facility, if any changes needed to be made," said Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook.
He said there would be "certain detainees at Guantanamo who cannot be transferred", and needed to remain in detention in Guantanamo but Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is focused on closing the prison and not leaving it to the next administration.
One of the first pledges made by President Barack Obama after assuming office was to shutter the facility, however, that project has run into legal and security hurdles.
Republicans have opposed Obama's unilateral transfer of detainees from the facility to other countries, claiming some could join terror groups, while Congress has banned the transfer of detainees to the U.S.
In June, a special representative was appointed to facilitate the transfer of prisoners to other countries.
Six detainees were transferred from the site to Oman the same month, as the administration continues to process transfers of inmates who do not pose security threats.
Defense officials have been evaluating the Navy brig in Charleston, South Carolina, and a site at Fort Leavenworth as possible domestic sites for detainees who cannot be sent to a third nation.
The U.S. has spent more than $100 million annually to operate the prison, which now houses 116 prisoners, according to the White House.
