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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

President Barack Obama speaks in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, May 21, 2014, following his meeting with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. The White House moved Wednesday to address the growing furor over allegations of misconduct at the Department of Veterans Affairs, summoning VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to an Oval Office meeting, hours before the House was scheduled to vote on a bill that would grant the secretary more authority to fire or demote senior executives.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Obama on VA allegations: ‘It is disgraceful, and I will not tolerate it’

As he struggles to contain the political damage from the widening VA scandal, President Obama met with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki on Wednesday and emerged to say he's pushing for quick, decisive action — but critics say it's another example of his employing strong rhetoric without actually firing anyone.

May 21, 2014
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney listens during his daily news briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, May 19, 2014. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

White House sends mixed signals on when Obama learned of VA problems

With criticism and anger mounting on both sides of the aisle, the White House on Tuesday struggled to explain exactly when President Obama learned of lengthy wait times and false reporting at Veterans Affairs health care facilities but defended its larger effort to improve care for the nation's veterans.

May 20, 2014
FILE - This Nov. 4, 2013 file photo shows President Barack Obama speaks at an Organizing for Action event in Washington. Organizing for Action, the nonprofit group supporting President Barack Obama’s agenda, is scaling back its fundraising efforts and cutting its paid staff in half as focus shifts to the looming midterm elections, three Democratic officials said. Formed last year from the remnants of Obama’s vaunted re-election campaign, OFA raised more than $30 million in its first 15 months as it worked across the U.S. to build support for Obama priorities like health care, immigration and climate change. But the group’s aggressive courting of big-dollar donors has vexed many Democrats who worry the group is siphoning sorely needed dollars from Democratic campaigns just as the party is bracing for a difficult midterm election. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

At party fundraiser, Obama shrugs off Benghazi, health-care woes

President Obama told Democratic donors Monday night that Congress is wasting time investigating the Benghazi affair and focusing on the troubles with his health-care reform law instead of tackling important issues such as immigration reform and a minimum-wage hike.

May 19, 2014
President Barack Obama greets players during an unannounced stop to surprise members of the Northwest little league baseball teams at Friendship park in Washington, Monday, May 19, 2014. Obama stopped to meet with the players before heading off to a private Democratic fundraiser. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Obama drops by D.C. Little League games

On his way to a Democratic party fundraiser on Monday night, President Obama stopped at Washington's Friendship Park and tossed a baseball with Little Leaguers warming up for their evening games.

May 19, 2014
A gunman aims his weapon in the hatch of a car at a local administration building preparing to patrol in Slovyansk, eastern Ukraine, Monday, May 19, 2014, with a huge Donetsk People's Republic flag in the background. Heavy mortar fire outside the eastern Ukrainian city of Slovyansk has damaged a large gas pipeline and set off a fire. Slovyansk has been the epicenter of fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian insurgents, who have seized government buildings across the east. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

White House: No sign Russian troops pulling back

The White House on Monday disputed Vladimir Putin's latest claim that Russian forces have begun to withdraw from the Ukrainian border, again calling into question whether the Russian president truly wants to de-escalate the situation or desires continued unrest ahead of Ukrainian elections on May 25.

May 19, 2014
Teddy Bridgewater went on to lead Louisville to one of the biggest upset in BCS bowl history after taking a brutal hit in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2. The NCAA scarcely mentions concussions in its manual. (Associated Press)

White House plans sports concussion summit

The Obama administration will invite athletes, coaches, parents and other stakeholders to the White House on May 29 for a summit on sports-related concussions.

May 16, 2014

Somber Obama dedicates 9/11 memorial: ‘Nothing can ever break us’

More than a decade after the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history, President Obama on Thursday spoke at a dedication ceremony for the Sept. 11 Memorial Museum and said the courage of those who put their own lives on the line to save others will inspire future generations.

May 15, 2014
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, has promised a vote on Keystone if the Senate moves forward on an energy efficiency bill. (Associated Press)

Democrats still divided over Keystone pipeline

With the Keystone XL oil pipeline exposing deep rifts in the Democratic Party, the White House remains tight-lipped on whether the president would sign or veto legislation approving the massive Canada-to-Texas project.

May 11, 2014
Vice President Joseph R. Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will have a hard time cutting their ties to the Obama administration if they run for president in 2016. (Associated Press)

Hillary Clinton taking heat from GOP — and Democrats

From her handling of the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack to her husband's economic record, Hillary Clinton came under fire over the weekend from all quarters — including taking indirect shots from those inside her own party.

May 11, 2014