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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

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, of Oklahoma, speaks during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington, on Capitol Hill, in this Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019 file photo. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) **FILE**

Jim Inhofe outlines Trump wins in Defense Authorization Act

President Trump is trumpeting a string of big victories in the massive compromise defense policy bill working its way through Congress, as liberal Democrats lament a host of priorities that have been cut from the legislation.

December 15, 2019
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks before departing to attend a NATO leader's summit in London, in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. Erdogan says there is no change in Turkey's position that is holding up a NATO defense proposal for Poland and Baltic nations until the alliance supports Ankara's concerns related to Syrian Kurdish fighters. (Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool)

Sanctions on Turkey, Russia advance on Capitol Hill

New sanctions on Turkey and Russia advanced on Capitol Hill Wednesday after a key Senate panel voted to penalize the two countries for their roles in the Syrian conflict and the deal sending a sophisticated Russian-made missile defense system to Ankara.

December 11, 2019
Training for Saudi nationals in programs at U.S. military facilities is now limited to classrooms only as the Pentagon conducts a wide-ranging review, an official said. Members of foreign militaries routinely receive instruction at U.S. facilities, and investigators are thought to be questioning other Saudi students about possible involvement in Friday's attack. Three people died in the shooting. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Pentagon halts operation training with Saudi Arabia

The Pentagon has halted all operational training of Saudi Arabian military officers at U.S. bases in the wake of Friday's shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola that claimed the lives of three sailors.

December 10, 2019
In this Jan. 29, 2016, file photo shows the entrance to the Naval Air Base Station in Pensacola, Fla.  (AP Photo/Melissa Nelson, File) **FILE**

Navy suspends Saudis’ flight training after Pensacola shooting

The Pentagon on Tuesday suspended all training of Saudi military officers training in the U.S. as it launched a wide-ranging review Tuesday evening in the wake of a deadly shooting over the weekend at a base in Pensacola, Florida that claimed the lives of three U.S. sailors.

December 10, 2019
FILE - In this Thursday, Nov. 28, 2019 file photo, President Donald Trump shakes hands during a meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani during a surprise Thanksgiving Day visit, at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan. A new survey released by the Asia Foundation Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019, says Afghans are increasingly fearful for their personal safety, but slightly more believe their war-weary country is moving in the right direction compared to previous years. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

House panel to hold hearing on Afghan IG war report

The House Foreign Affairs Committee announced plans for a hearing at the start of the new year to examine the U.S.' role in the war in Afghanistan, after the publication of lengthy inspector general's report saying the public had been misled virtually from the start about problems in the 18-year-old conflict.

December 10, 2019
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, center, waves as he leaves the parliament after submitting next year's budget bill, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019. Rouhani said his country will depend less on oil revenue next year, in a new budget that is designed to resist crippling U.S. trade embargoes. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Big defense bill drops provision limiting Trump on war with Iran

The newly-announced defense policy legislation does not limit President Trump's authorities to launch a war with Iran, dropping a bipartisan provision requiring the president to get explicit congressional authorization for military action against Tehran.

December 10, 2019
The Pentagon vehemently denies that the White House exerted any political pressure throughout the process for awarding the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract, which ultimately went to Microsoft. (Associated Press/File)

Massive bill has wins for military families, Donald Trump’s Space Force

Lawmakers on Tuesday unveiled a highly anticipated bipartisan compromise of the massive $738 billion 2020 defense authorization bill, breaking a legislative logjam and dealing with dozens of knotty security and policy decisions on the very same day House Democrats were bringing two articles of impeachment against President Trump.

December 10, 2019
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., smiles as he meets with reporters as work continues on a plan to keep the government as a funding deadline approaches, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Space Force deal clears way for vote on massive defense policy bill

Following a bipartisan breakthrough, lawmakers are on track to vote on the massive 2020 defense policy bill as early as Wednesday after months of contentious negotiations, giving President Trump a partial win in moving his prized military Space Force closer to reality.

December 9, 2019