Attorney General Eric Holder today conceded something that's been increasingly clear, Reuters reports.

He told reporters it's going to be difficult to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by President Barack Obama's self-imposed Jan. 22 deadline.

Last week, the House went on record as opposing the transfer of terrorism detainees from Guantanamo to prisons in the U.S. As the Associated Press reported:

If such a ban were to become law, the Obama administration would be hard-pressed to close the Guantanamo Bay prison by January as Obama has promised. Last week the administration acknowledged for the first time that it might not be able to close the facility by that deadline because of difficulties in reviewing detainee files and resolving legal and logistical questions.

There are about 450 prisoners at the detention center, Reuters estimates.