GOP Leader Wants Obama to Reconsider Guantanamo Closure Plan

President Obama should readjust his plans to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday, arguing that the president "made a mistake" by setting a January deadline for shuttering the prison.

The Kentucky Republican, in an interview with "FOX News Sunday," reasoned that Obama has already shifted position on other national security matters and should apply that flexibility to Guantanamo.

"He's changed his mind about a number of things," McConnell said. "This is one I think that requires some adjustment in his position, because I think ... he's going to have a very difficult time figuring out what to do with these terrorists."

Attorney General Eric Holder told lawmakers last week that the administration would not release dangerous Guantanamo prisoners into the United States. But as lawmakers wrestle over funding for the closure of the facility, they are still raising flags over where the detainees would ultimately end up.

"There's no reason in the world to bring these people to the United States," McConnell said. "I don't think there's a community in America that's going to be interested in taking them."

Obama shifted position on two national security issues this past week, arguing that photos showing alleged abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan should not be released and announcing that he will restart a revised version of the military commissions he had criticized as a candidate.

McConnell said Sunday he views such shifts as a vindication of Bush-era policies, and in part a response to the criticism from former Vice President Dick Cheney of the administration's changes to those policies.

"I think he's adjusting his sails on all of these issues now that he is president and knows that ...one of his principal responsibilities is to keep the American people safe," he said.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine said Obama is not backing off his campaign pledges by shifting on these issues.

"I think we want a president who's going to look at that data every day and try to make the best decision for the national security," Kaine said on NBC's "Meet the Press."