Abigail Hauslohner

Washington, D.C.

National security reporter

Education: University of Michigan, BA in anthropology and Arabic studies; Columbia University, MA in journalism

Abigail Hauslohner is a Washington Post national security reporter focused on Congress. In her 12 years at the newspaper, she has been a roving national correspondent, writing on topics ranging from immigration to political extremism and Guantanamo Bay, and has served as the Post's Cairo bureau chief. From 2007 through 2014, she was a Middle East correspondent, reporting on wars, revolutions and politics from Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Gaza, Afghanistan and beyond, first for TIME Magazine and then for the Post. She has reported from more than a dozen countries.
Latest from Abigail Hauslohner

Biden visiting an African region critical to the U.S.-China rivalry

The president arrived Monday in Angola, his first trip to Africa as president and one of his final foreign trips in office.

December 2, 2024
President Joe Biden with Angolan Foreign Minister Téte António upon Biden's arrival in Angola on Monday.

Senate Republicans are more receptive to Hegseth despite Gaetz’s exit

Senators stressed that police had investigated a 2017 allegation that Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for defense secretary, had drugged and sexually assaulted a woman at a California political conference and declined to press charges.

November 21, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, leaves a meeting with Republican senators at the Capitol on Thursday (Allison Robbert for The Washington Post)

Senate Democrats force Israel weapons vote, citing Biden inaction

The Senate ultimately voted down the measure, brought by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic allies, to block the sale of some U.S.-made weapons to Israel.

November 21, 2024
From left, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) and Peter Welch (D-Vermont) discuss a resolution meant to cut off some U.S. arms transfers to Israel.

Iran hawks will hold less sway in Trump’s new government

Republicans are split over how aggressive the next Trump administration should be toward Tehran as the president-elect pursues an America-first foreign policy.

November 17, 2024
President Donald Trump announces the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal at the White House in 2018.

Fear, celebration as Washington scrutinizes Trump pick to run Pentagon

Pete Hegseth has none of the customary experience for running the Pentagon. Several Republicans said they were surprised by Trump’s choice.

November 13, 2024
Pete Hegseth attends a Fox News New Year's event in Nashville in 2021.

As Middle East crisis grinds on, Pentagon shows signs of strain

For the first time since the Gaza war began, the U.S. will have no aircraft carrier nearby. Meanwhile, a weapons shortage has left the Pentagon spread thin.

November 5, 2024
A fighter jet on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea in 2019.

Arab states resist U.S. pressure to denounce Houthis

Attacks in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthis are hurting economies across the Middle East, but Arab leaders are loath to be seen siding with the U.S. and Israel.

November 3, 2024
Supporters of Yemen's Houthi movement rally against Israel in the capital, Sanaa, on Oct. 25.

U.S. inundated with claims that American arms killed Gaza civilians

The State Department has received hundreds of reports that Israel’s use of U.S. weapons is responsible for excessive civilian casualties in Gaza.

October 30, 2024
A Palestinian girl looks through the rubble of a building after an Israeli strike in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on Tuesday.

Hezbollah is pounded by Israel, but key ally Iran is reluctant to intervene

In the past year, Hezbollah has suffered the heaviest losses of its four-decade history. Iran has offered rhetorical support, but it has not joined the fight.

September 27, 2024
An anti-Israel billboard on a street in Tehran.

Iraq touts deal with U.S. to withdraw most troops by 2026

The U.S. and Iraq have a tentative deal to begin the withdrawal of most troops, leaving only a small force to guard against Iranian-backed militias.

September 12, 2024
In this photo from January 2018, U.S. soldiers train with mortars at a small outpost in western Iraq, near the border with Syria.