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An unlikely ally is offering a glimmer of hope that President Barack Obama can make good on his vow to close Guantanamo Bay before leaving office.

Republican Sen. John McCain, a fierce critic of Obama's foreign policy, is about to take the chairmanship of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee. He says it's still possible the war on terror camp in Cuba could be shut down -- but warns that the administration will have to come up with a clear plan to overcome Republican opposition.

Asked in a CNN interview whether he was prepared to help his old political foe, despite a congressional ban on sending detainees to the U.S. mainland, McCain said, "I am prepared to and I think it can be done."

But he warned that ever since he started talking to the administration about Guantanamo Bay in 2009, it had "never come forward with a plan as to how we treat those individuals that have been judged as too dangerous to ever be released, and that is the hangup."

McCain, himself a former prisoner of war, has long favored closing Guantanamo Bay, which critics say stains the reputation of the United States and is a recruiting tool for terrorists. But key players in Congress, including many senior Republicans, have barred funding for the administration to send remaining inmates elsewhere or to build facilities on the U.S. mainland.

Speculation about the camp's future is being stoked by the recent transfers of a group of prisoners to Uruguay last week. The U.S. response to the 9/11 attacks in 2001 is also back in the spotlight because of the recent release of a Senate report on enhanced interrogation tactics critics say equate to torture.

McCain said he thought that Republican opposition could be overcome, if the administration laid out exactly how it believed it could close Guantanamo.

"If I went to the members of the committee today and said, 'Look they are going to be moved to a maximum security prison in some location in the United States of America and we have a plan for that transfer, I think most of them would be perfectly happy about that," McCain said.

Last weekend, the Obama administration sent six Guantanamo Bay detainees to Uruguay for resettlement as refugees as part of its plan to depopulate the camp prior to its closure.

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Republican opposition can be overcome, McCain says

This time, Senator Ted Cruzs fight over U.S. spending ended with a whimper, not the bang of a government shutdown or a rebuke over President Barack Obamas policies.

The Texas Republican kept his colleagues in Washington for an uncommon Saturday session because he wanted to exhaust avenues of protest against a $1.1 trillion spending bill that doesnt block Obamas action easing deportation for millions of undocumented immigrants.

Cruz made one last procedural play late tonight, a point of order on Obamas action. It was rejected, 22-74, with many of his fellow Republicans joining Democrats in opposing it.

Cruz signaled his surrender late in the afternoon by allowing Senate leaders to prevent a government shutdown while they put the final touches on a broader spending bill. His agreement meant the Senate unanimously passed a short-term spending bill to fund the government through Dec. 17.

Until then Cruz managed to be on the outside of the debate and the center of attention at the same time. His parliamentary objection will give Republicans an idea of who in their party stands with him on the immigration issue and who does not.

After several days of delay in passing government funding, Cruzs inability to derail the measure showed that power has shifted in the Senate. Its the party bosses, not the party bases, that won this years battle.

Last year, Tea Party-backed Republicans, led by Cruz, forced a 16-day partial government shutdown because they didnt want to fund Obamacare.

Cruz was able to give attention to an issue that plays well with the Republican base - much as Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts took her turn this week in trying to bring down the bill by leading a populist surge against a bank-backed provision that infuriated Democratic Party leaders.

Still, the ability of Cruz and Warren to command attention by positioning themselves as champions of their causes shifts the national discussion in their direction. For instance, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California created delays for the bill in her chamber on Dec. 11 after initially signaling shed go along with the measure.

Cruzs efforts also show how difficult it will be for Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell to run the Senate next year when he becomes majority leader of the Republican caucus with the tough-to-please Texan in its ranks.

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Cruz and Warren Back in Spotlight by Obstructing Bill

Published December 13, 2014

Dec. 12, 2014: Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., talks to reporters on Capitol Hill as the Senate considers a spending bill.

WASHINGTON Republican arent mincing words about some in their own party as the political divide grows and the deadline to pass a spending bill nears.

Heading into a rare Saturday session, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News he was surprised that GOP Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah went over his head Friday night and held up a vote on the $1.1 trillion spending bill.

A senior GOP source lashed out at Cruz and Lee, calling the move hamfisted and amateurish.

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters that he was surprised by Cruz and Lee.

On Friday night, the two Republican lawmakers demanded a vote on a proposal to cut funds from the bill that could be used to implement President Obama's new immigration policy, ending any chance the measure could clear the Senate and be sent to the White House with a minimum of fuss.

Officials in both parties said the bill remains on track for clearance by early next week. Even so, the move led Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to abandon plans to adjourn the Senate for the weekend, and raised the possibility of a test vote on the spending bill shortly after midnight on Saturday.

Senate Republican leaders have pledged to challenge Obama's immigration policy early in the new year, after the GOP takes control of the Senate. But Cruz suggested they shouldn't be entirely trusted to keep their pledge.

"We will learn soon enough if those statements are genuine and sincere," he said, in a clear reference to Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker John Boehner.

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GROWING DIVIDE? GOP faces infighting during budget battle

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