Day 37
Feb. 25, 2009
"It's going to take us a good portion of that time to look at all of the files that we have to examine, until we get our hands around what Guantánamo is, and also what Guantánamo was."
—Eric Holder, Attorney General, while visiting the detention facilities at Guantánamo Bay, which President Barack Obama has ordered shuttered by next year
Obama's AG suggests he has a positive impression of how the detention center at the U.S. naval base in Cuba is now run and that it will be difficult to close — but says he's still got every intention to do it. Holder's visit offers the latest update on the progress the new Administration has made on its promise to shut down the widely controversial facility; he says much of the year will be spent reviewing individual case histories of the roughly 245 inmates.
Back at the White House, Obama is hoping the third time's a charm as he selects former Washington governor Gary Locke as his nominee for Commerce Secretary after losing both New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Republican Senator Judd Gregg earlier. Obama pokes fun at the situation at the announcement ceremony: "I'm sure it's not lost on anyone that we've tried this a couple of times. But I'm a big believer in keeping at something until you get it right."