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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

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan participates in a round table meeting during a NATO leaders meeting at The Grove hotel and resort in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019. As NATO leaders meet and show that the world's biggest security alliance is adapting to modern threats, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is refusing to concede that the future of the 29-member alliance is under a cloud. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Senate panel to mark up bill slamming Turkey for Russia missile buy

The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is preparing to mark up legislation next week that would impose sanctions on Turkey for its purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system that the Pentagon fears could undercut NATO's defenses.

December 4, 2019

Russia moves divide leaders at NATO meeting

Russia again is proving a divisive issue for NATO countries struggling to present a united front at the two-day leaders' meeting that concludes Wednesday in London, as President Trump and fellow leaders sparred over how to confront Moscow's recent moves.

December 3, 2019
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Lawmakers demand Trump sanction Turkey over Russia deal

Two U.S. senators, one from each party, are calling on President Trump to impose sanctions on Turkey for its acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile defense system that the U.S. and NATO could undercut the effective of the American-made new F-35 fighter jet and weaken the alliance.

December 2, 2019
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the University of Louisville McConnell Center's Distinguished Speaker Series in Louisville, Ky., Monday, Dec. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

Mike Pompeo slams Cuba, Venezuela for ‘hijacking’ protests

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday called out the leftist governments of Venezuela and Cuba for attempting to interfere in democratic institutions across Latin America as demonstrations denouncing economic and political instability rocked countries across South America,

December 2, 2019
French President Emmanuel Macron gestures during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Elysee palace, Thursday, Nov.28, 2019 in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron said the NATO needed "a wake up call" and that its leaders must have a strategic discussion about how the military alliance should work, including on improving ties with Russia. (Bertrand Guay, Pool via AP)

Emmanuel Macron ‘sponsor’ of terrorism, Turkey claims

Turkey's foreign minister on Thursday claimed French President Emmanuel Macron is a sponsor of terrorism after Mr. Macron criticized Ankara's ongoing military campaign in northeast Syria against U.S.-backed Kurdish militia that has left hundreds dead and tens of thousands displaced from their homes.

November 28, 2019
A realistic, successful plan will require "real cooperation and partnership between the U.S. and Turkey as two partners being inside Syria and involved in Syria," Abdulaziz Tammo, president of the Independent Syrian Kurds Association, said in an interview last week. (Associated Press/File)

Abdulaziz Tammo: U.S. needed for Syria Kurd peace

The United States remains the critical player in diplomacy to ease soaring tensions between Syria and Turkey after Ankara's incursion in a critical border area that has historically been heavily populated by Syrian Kurds, the group's leader said.

November 25, 2019
President Trump has signed off on the decision to withdraw from the 1992 Open Skies Treaty, but the move hasn't been announced publicly yet, according to two administration officials. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Democrats press Trump White House on plans to quit Open Skies treaty

The Democratic leaders of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees are demanding new answers from the White House on their reported decision to pull the U.S. out of a key international treaty that allows U.S. intelligence flights over Russia.

November 22, 2019
In this Wednesday, April 6, 2016 file photo, Poland’s former president and legendary Solidarity freedom movement founder Lech Walesa gestures during an exclusive interview with The Associated Press at his office at the European Solidarity Center in Gdansk, Poland. The son of former Polish president Lech Walesa said Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016, that his father, a longtime adversary of Poland's current leadership, is being stripped of state protection when he travels abroad. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File) **FILE**

Lech Walesa, Cold War hero, laments fall of America’s ‘good empire’

Lech Walesa, the onetime Polish shipyard electrician who helped ignite a movement that won the Cold War, gave a stark take on the modern world as he explained that the current state of many countries resembles "a lot of the situation" when he first seized the world's attention four decades ago.

November 21, 2019
Senate Armed Services Committee member Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. questions Navy Secretary nominee Richard Spencer on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 11, 2017, during Spencer's confirmation hearing before the committee. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Open Skies Treaty withdrawal plan spurs partisan battle

The Trump administration and House Democrats are clashing on another foreign policy front, with the fate of a landmark international treaty that allows U.S. intelligence flights over Russia hanging in the balance.

November 19, 2019
FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2018, file photo, President Donald Trump, right, walk past Russia's President Vladimir Putin, left, as they gather for the group photo at the start of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Poll: Russians negative on U.S., apathetic on Trump

An overwhelming majority of Russians now view relations with the U.S. in a negative way -- and are increasingly growing tired of the circus around President Trump, a new state-run agency poll shows.

November 18, 2019