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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

Syrian Kurdish fighters of Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army enter Turkey from Syria to join fighting alongside Turkish forces against US-backed Kurds, in Syria, Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. Turkish forces pushed deeper into northeastern Syria on Friday, the third day of Ankara's cross-border offensive against Syrian Kurdish fighters that has set off another mass displacement of civilians and met with widespread criticism from the international community.(Ugur Can/DHA via AP)

Kurds losing a major ally a familiar story

They are the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East, one of the world's most populous stateless peoples, and a geopolitical headache in every country where they have settled.

October 15, 2019
Division among House conservatives has hobbled the passage of a critical Pentagon policy bill. (Associated Press/File)

Syria, impeachment push put defense funding agenda in Congress at risk

Republican lawmakers are deeply divided over how strongly to oppose President Trump's abrupt troop drawdown in Syria as Congress returns from its break this week and a Democratic push for impeachment threatens to overwhelm an agenda of defense and national security legislation before the end of the year.

October 13, 2019
Hillary Clinton lectures on foreign policy at Rackham Auditorium, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019 in Ann Arbor, Mich.(Jacob Hamilton/Ann Arbor News via AP)

Hillary Clinton: ‘Everyone’ knew consequences of Trump Syria pullout

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday hit back at the current Secretary's declaration that the U.S. "didn't give Turkey a green light" to launch a military offensive on U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in Northeast Syria after President Trump withdrew forces from the region.

October 11, 2019
Rep. Adam Kinzinger R-Ill., speaks to reporters after attending an event Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Noreen Nasir) **FILE**

Adam Kinzinger: Trump troop withdrawal from Syria ‘weak’

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, Illinois Republican, on Thursday questioned President Trump's decision to withdraw a contingent of U.S. forces from northern Syria that opened the door to sweeping Turkish invasion, calling the president's move "weak."

October 10, 2019
A Turkish army officer jumps from his tank moving to its new position on the Turkish side of the border between Turkey and Syria, in Sanliurfa province, southeastern Turkey, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019. Tensions have risen at the border between Turkey and Syria, on expectation of a Turkish military incursion into Syria. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Turkey assault on Kurds advancing despite Trump warning

Turkey amassed troops and moved heavy weapons to its border with Syria on Tuesday in apparent preparation for a major assault on U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters, with Ankara steamrolling over an international outcry and pledging to eliminate what it calls a "terror corridor" in its backyard.

October 8, 2019
In this March 21, 2018, file photo Nancy Pelosi of Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., attend a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony honoring the Office of Strategic Services in Emancipation Hall on Capitol Hill in Washington. Pelosi and McConnell are coming together to see if a deal can be made to stop billions of dollars in government spending cuts. Failure to reach an agreement would usher in cuts to the Pentagon and domestic programs of $125 billion next year _ a 10 percent drop from current levels.(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Pelosi, McConnell lead Hill rebellion on Trump Syria move

In a move rarely seen on Capitol Hill, both Republicans and Democrats lawmakers are condemning President Trump's decision to pull U.S. forces out of northeast Syria, apparently giving Turkey a green light to conduct a long-awaited strike on American-allied Kurdish-led fighters in the region.

October 7, 2019
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi (fourth from right) heads talks with Taliban delegation at the Foreign Office in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Thursday. Taliban leaders are meeting with Mr. Qureshi as part of a push to revive a peace deal. (Associated Press Photographs)

Pakistan, Taliban push for restart of U.S. peace talks

Pakistani and Taliban leaders are urging a resumption of Afghanistan peace negotiations as soon as possible after President Trump scrapped a potential deal last month citing an attack in Kabul claimed by the Taliban that killed an American soldier just prior to a planned landmark summit at Camp David.

October 3, 2019
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., right, gestures during a gun violence prevention roundtable discussion along with Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, left, and Virginia Secretary of Public Safety, Brian Moran, center, in Richmond, Va., Monday, June 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) **FILE**

Tim Kaine slams Trump on anniversary of Khashoggi death

Sen. Tim Kaine, Virginia Democrat, called out President Trump on Wednesday, the anniversary of the death of U.S.-based dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying the White House has failed to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for the brutal murder.

October 2, 2019