Freshman Sen. Tom Cotton slammed defense officials during an Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday on the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba amid Obama administration efforts to close the military-run prison.

Cotton, an Iraq War veteran, said efforts to close the prison amounted to a political decision to uphold a promise from President Barack Obama’s campaign.

“To say that it is a security decision based on propaganda value that our enemies get from it is a pretext to justify a political decision,” Cotton said. “In my opinion, the only problem with Guantánamo Bay is there are too many empty beds and cells there right now. … As far as I’m concerned, every last one of them can rot in hell.”