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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

From left, Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., gather to wait for their vehicles as they leave the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Defense Authorization Act fight inflamed by Trump Wall spending

The House and Senate are gearing up for several major battles over defense policy, with the Trump administration's use of Pentagon money for a Mexico border wall only making it harder to reconcile the differences in rival versions of the massive, must-pass 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.

September 4, 2019
A stern view of the Grace 1 super tanker in the British territory of Gibraltar, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, seized last month in a British Royal Navy operation off Gibraltar.  The United States moved on Thursday to halt the release of the Iranian supertanker Grace 1, detained in Gibraltar for breaching EU sanctions on oil shipments to Syria, thwarting efforts by authorities in London and the British overseas territory to defuse tensions with Tehran. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

Despite U.S. plea, Gibraltar releases seized Iranian tanker

Local authorities in the British territory of Gibraltar on Thursday released a seized Iranian oil tanker that was at the heart of a fierce international dispute, despite a last-minute plea from the Trump administration to keep it in custody.

August 15, 2019
Medical staff and protesters carry an injured man as they face off with police near the Shum Shui Po police station in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Police fired tear gas at the protesters. Meanwhile, five people were arrested over violence at the airport. (Associated Press)

Hong Kong still on edge amid Chinese military buildup

Fears mounted Wednesday that the ongoing protests in Hong Kong could spark a repeat of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, as Chinese authorities increased their military presence not far from the border of the semi-autonomous territory that has been the scene of a growing pro-democracy movement throughout this summer.

August 14, 2019
President Donald Trump walks down the steps of Air Force One at Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach, N.Y., Friday, Aug. 9, 2019. Trump is in the Hamptons to attend a pair of fundraisers before heading to his golf club in New Jersey for vacation. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Lawmakers again vow to fight Trump foreign aid cuts

A bipartisan group of the top foreign policy lawmakers in the House and Senate is urging the Trump administration to not cut $4 billion in funding for a number of foreign aid accounts that have already been approved by Congress.

August 9, 2019
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses his country's ambassadors in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019. Turkey's combative president is threatening to launch a military operation in northeastern Syria that is designed to push back U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish forces, an invasion that carries major risks for a highly combustible region in war-devastated Syria.(Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool)

U.S., Turkey said to reach deal to head off clash over Syria, Kurds

The U.S. and Turkey said Wednesday they have agreed to establish a operations center to oversee a proposed "safe zone" in northern Syria as a buffer between Turkish forces and U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish forces, after several days of sometimes difficult negotiations.

August 7, 2019