The White House is expected to transfer more detainees out of Guantanamo Bay in an effort to fulfill President Barack Obama's promise to shut down the U.S. military prison, according to The Los Angeles Times.

National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said Tuesday that the White House was "making progress on a number of additional promising opportunities" to transfer more prisoners.

"While we do not generally discuss transfers before they take place, we are fully committed to implementing the president's direction that we transfer detainees to the greatest extent possible, consistent with national security and our humane-treatment policy, as we work toward closing the facility at Guantanamo Bay," Hayden said.

She added that the administration has been reviewing Yemeni detainees "on a case-by-case basis," The Times reported.

Hayden said an interagency review board has started to review "whether continued law of war detention of certain Guantanamo detainees is necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat" to the nation.

"In this way, we will ensure that any continued detention is carefully evaluated and justified," she said.

There have been 17 inmates transferred out of Guantanamo in the past 13 months. Five of them were the former Taliban officials President Obama released in Qatar in exchange for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

Despite the political controversy the recent swap has stirred throughout the nation, the White House is continuing with its plans to move the prisoners out of the military facility in Cuba. Last week, the president hinted at transferring more of the 149 remaining prisoners as the war in Afghanistan comes to a close.

"By definition, if we in fact are ending a war, then there's going to be a process in which some of those individuals are going to be released," Obama said on NBC News.

According to The Times, military courts have already approved the release of several dozen inmates to go back to their home countries but with the recent furor, many lawmakers are now threatening to place new roadblocks preventing the White House from moving forward with its plans.

A few GOP lawmakers including Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) have voiced their outrage at the president and his administration for approving the release of the high-ranking Taliban members.

"I think it's a foreshadowing of their thinking," said Roskam, the GOP's chief deputy whip. "They've just released five. It begs the question: Do they propose to release more?"