Obama Plans to Press Ahead With Guantanamo Bay Closure

The White House is emphasizing President Barack Obama’s willingness to take executive action to meet one of his earliest campaign promises – closing the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba – a rhetorical shift that suggests growing recognition that Congress is unlikely to take the steps needed to shutter the controversial facility.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest on Wednesday said Mr. Obama is pushing his aides “to go as far as we can to reduce the population there and to ultimately get to a place where we can close that...