Skip to content
TRENDING:
Donald Trump
Advertisement
Author profile
Ben Wolfgang

Ben Wolfgang

bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com

Ben Wolfgang is a national security correspondent at The Washington Times, a senior member of its Threat Status team, and the host and producer of the award-winning Threat Status Podcast. Ben covers national security, foreign policy, military affairs, the defense industry and the rapidly evolving landscape of military technology.
A Pennsylvania native, he joined The Washington Times in 2011 after serving as a political reporter at The Republican-Herald in Pottsville, Pa. Over the course of his career, Ben has covered the White House, Congress, and four presidential campaigns.
His reporting has earned recognition from some of journalism's most respected organizations, including the Virginia Press Association and the Society of Professional Journalists' Washington, D.C. Chapter, among other honors.
Ben has interviewed heads of state, chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, senior military commanders, cabinet secretaries, senior government officials, and the CEOs of many of the nation's largest and most influential defense companies.
Ben is a frequent guest on broadcast media, with appearances on C-SPAN, the Sirius XM POTUS channel, and other outlets.
He can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Ben Wolfgang

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy (Associated Press) **FILE**

EPA expands powers over land use in bid to control water pollution

The administration announced rules Wednesday to grant federal agencies sweeping environmental oversight over wetlands, ponds and even some ditches in a move supporters said will clean up dirty waters but which critics said was a capstone power grab for a lame-duck president.

May 27, 2015
Local residents and Sunni tribal fighters welcome newly arriving Iraqi Shiite Hezbollah Brigade militiamen, brandishing their flag, who are joining the fight against Islamic State group militants in Khalidiya, 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo)

White House sidesteps defense secretary’s comments on Iraqi forces

President Obama on Tuesday didn't distance himself from Defense Secretary Ashton Carter's claim that Iraqi forces showed "no will to fight" last week when Islamic State terrorist fighters captured the town of Ramadi -- but the White House also wouldn't explicitly endorse the Pentagon chief's comments.

May 26, 2015
President Barack Obama gives the commencement address as he attends the U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduation in New London, Conn., Wednesday, May 20, 2015. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Obama: Climate change a threat to homeland security, hurts military readiness

President Obama on Wednesday largely ignored major advances by the Islamic State, a nuclear North Korea and other threats to the U.S., and instead sounded an alarm on climate change, telling future military officers a warming planet is perhaps the most sweeping danger facing the nation today.

May 20, 2015
FILE - In this Dec. 19, 2014 file photo, oil pump jacks work in unison on a foggy morning in Williston, N.D. The North Dakota Legislature is looking at restructuring oil taxes as a hedge against falling crude prices. Oil companies could see a big tax cut if crude prices continue to slide, and the state could lose billions of dollars. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Crude oil exports bill offered by Senate Republicans, Democrats

Despite continued resistance from the Obama administration, a bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Tuesday to end the decadeslong ban on U.S. crude oil exports, a move they argue will provide economic benefits at home and offer greater energy security to allies around the world.

May 19, 2015
Chris Miller shows a flour solution from a specific strain of wheat at a research facility in the Wheat Innovation Center in Manhattan, Kan., Wednesday, March 11, 2015. Spectrum analysis is made of the solution. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Obama threatens to veto House science research funding bill

The White House on Monday night threatened to veto a House science, technology and innovation funding bill, saying the legislation makes unacceptably steep cuts for the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies.

May 18, 2015
President Obama tours the Real-Time Tactical Operational Intelligence Center in the Camden County (N.J.) Police Administration Building on Monday with Camden County Police Chief J. Scott Thomson. (Associated Press)

Obama seeks to end immigration enforcement by local, state police

The administration issued a report Monday saying that in order to rebuild trust between police and their communities, the federal government should stop enlisting state and local police in most immigration enforcement, setting up another challenge as President Obama tries to please immigrant rights advocates while carrying out deportations.

May 18, 2015
President Obama uses a cellphone to contact supporters during a surprise visit to meet volunteers at an Obama campaign office in Port St. Lucie, Fla. on Sept. 9, 2012. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Obama joins Twitter under @POTUS handle

President Obama joined Twitter on Monday, vowing to use his @POTUS account as a vehicle to communicate more directly with the American people.

May 18, 2015
In a Thursday, May 14, 2015, file photo, President Obama speaks during a news conference after meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council leaders and delegations at Camp David in Maryland. In a surprise announcement on Monday, May 18, 2015, coming nine months after police in riot gear dispelled racially charged protests, President Obama is banning the federal government from providing some military-style equipment to local departments and putting stricter controls on other weapons and gear distributed to law enforcement. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Obama to limit police access to military equipment

President Obama on Monday set new limits on police access to certain military equipment, part of a larger federal government response aimed at preventing the kind of unrest seen in Ferguson, Missouri, last year.

May 18, 2015
President Barack Obama, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson stand for a moment of silence at the 34th Annual National Peace Officers Memorial Service, Friday, May 15, 2015, on the West Front of the Capitol in Washington. The ceremony honors all law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Obama honors fallen officers at memorial service

President Obama on Friday honored 131 officers who lost their lives in 2014 and said the nation not only owes them a debt of gratitude but also also must pay tribute to their memories by fighting poverty and improving communities' relationships with law enforcement.

May 15, 2015
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio listens during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Republicans slam Obama for downplaying ‘low-tech’ Iran threat

Leading Republicans are slamming President Obama for seemingly downplaying the "low-tech" threat posed by Iran and brushing off international fears that Tehran could use money from economic sanctions relief to fuel more chaos in the Middle East.

May 15, 2015
President Obama (center) bids farewell to leaders from six Gulf nations, who are trying to work through tensions sparked by the U.S. bid for a nuclear deal with Iran, a pursuit that has put regional partners on edge. Mr. Obama is seeking to reassure the Gulf leaders that the U.S. overtures to Iran will not come at the expense of commitments to their security. (Associated Press)

Obama looks for global support on Iran nuke deal

Just hours after Congress cemented its authority to review any nuclear deal with Iran, President Obama said Thursday the U.S. and its Gulf allies are unified in their effort to not only stop Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons but also to transform the nation from regional troublemaker to peaceful neighbor.

May 14, 2015
President Barack Obama shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef during their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, May 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Obama pushes ahead with summit despite Arab absences

Despite the absence of key Arab leaders, President Obama forged ahead Wednesday with a summit of Persian Gulf states and said the U.S. is focused on deepening security ties in the region despite deep concerns about Mr. Obama's proposed nuclear deal with Iran.

May 13, 2015