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Lauren Toms

lmeier@washingtontimes.com

Lauren Toms is a national security reporter for The Washington Times, covering national security committees on Capitol Hill, foreign affairs, defense, and diplomacy. She began covering politics at CNN during the 2016 presidential election, working closely with the national security and justice teams, and later joined Axios as an editor specializing in international and military coverage.
Lauren holds a master's degree in U.S. law from Washington University in St. Louis school of law, and a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communications from the George Washington University school of media and public affairs. She can be reached at ltoms@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Lauren Toms

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via video conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, Jan. 15, 2021. Russia announced Friday that it will withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty allowing observation flights over military facilities following the U.S. exit from the pact. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Joe Biden’s burden grows as Russia moves to leave Open Skies Treaty

President-elect Joseph R. Biden's foreign policy to-do list just got a little longer after Russia announced late last week with was following the Trump administration's lead and withdrawing from the multinational Open Skies Treaty designed to lower suspicions and improve transparency on both sides of the old Cold War divide.

January 17, 2021
In this Nov. 30, 2017, file photo, American soldiers wait on the tarmac in Logar province, Afghanistan. Top officials in the White House were aware in early 2019 of classified intelligence indicating Russia was secretly offering bounties to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans, a full year earlier than has been previously reported. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)

U.S. reduces troop numbers in Afghanistan to 2,500

The number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan has dropped to 2,500, acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said Friday, meeting the Trump administration's goal to steeply reduce the number of American troops in the country ahead of Inauguration Day.

January 15, 2021
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting via video conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russia withdraws from Open Skies Treaty after US departure

Russia said Friday it is withdrawing from the Open Skies Treaty, just two months after the U.S.' withdrawal from the international agreement allowing nations to conduct unarmed surveillance flights was finalized.

January 15, 2021
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gives his regularly scheduled morning press conference known as "La Mañanera" at the National Palace in Mexico City, Friday, Dec. 18, 2020. Las Mañaneras are a platform for the president to relay information he says the media ignore or misrepresent. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Angela Merkel rip Twitter for Trump ban

Global leaders are slamming decisions by American social media giants to ban President Trump from their platforms, in many cases separating their personal opinions of the president from their unease over the sweeping power that American Big Tech firms such as Twitter and Facebook now wield.

January 13, 2021
In this Dec. 9, 2020, file photo President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for Secretary of Defense Retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin speaks during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) **FILE**

Biden transition team in push to get national security team in place

President-elect Biden's transition team is making a full-court press to get his national security team confirmed quickly by the new Democratic-led Senate, even as a Senate panel heard arguments on whether Defense Secretary-designate Lloyd Austin deserves a waiver to take the job after his long career in the military.

January 12, 2021