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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

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke gave Florida a waiver out of the offshore drilling proposal. Now more states are also trying to get passes out of the energy plan. (Associated Press)

Governors want offshore oil drilling exemptions, too

By giving Florida a waiver from its massive offshore drilling proposal, the Trump administration has opened a door that virtually every East Coast state, including those led by Republicans, is now trying to rush through.

January 28, 2018
A change in federal requirements that regulate the fuel efficiency of new cars and trucks could mean consumers pay less per car but more for gasoline. (Associated Press/File)

Automakers, environmentalists battle over CAFE standards

The Washington Auto Show this week is the backdrop for a high-stakes fight between environmentalists and the American auto industry, with each side pressing its case ahead of a key Trump administration decision on whether to relax national fuel economy standards.

January 25, 2018
This April 20, 2011, file photo shows some of the 30,000 solar panels that make up the Public Service Company of New Mexico's new 2-megawatt photovoltaic array in Albuquerque, N.M. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan,File) **FILE**

Energy Dept. launches $3M solar manufacturing competition

Two days after President Trump slapped a 30 percent tariff on foreign solar panels, Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Wednesday announced a $3 million grant competition to spur America's solar manufacturing sector.

January 24, 2018
FILE - In this Sept. 23, 2013, file photo, a driver passes a small boat harbor in King Cove, Alaska. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke signed a land exchange agreement Monday, Jan. 22, 2018, authorizing a swap of federal land in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge for land owned by King Cove Corporation that could lead to a road through the refuge so King Cove residents can have land access to an all-weather airport at Cold Bay, Alaska. (James Brooks/Kodiak Daily Mirror via AP, File)

Trump officials green light road through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge

The Trump administration's move this week to green light a highly controversial one-lane road through Alaska's Izembek National Wildlife Refuge signals a dramatic shift in approach from the Obama era, with the White House no longer bowing to pressure to conservationists, environmentalists, and liberal Democrats.

January 23, 2018
Diana Steskal rests her head on her husband Byron's shoulder as Nebraska Public Service Commissioners rise to leave following their vote approving the TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline "mainline alternative route" through the state Monday, Nov. 20, 2017, in Lincoln, Neb. The couple are landowners in the path of the pipeline. (Eric Gregory/The Journal-Star via AP) ** FILE **

TransCanada: Keystone XL pipeline construction will start next year

After a decade of uncertainty and near-constant battles with federal and state regulators, TransCanada said Thursday it plans to break ground on the Keystone XL oil pipeline next year, delivering a huge win for the energy industry and laying to rest rumors it was on the verge of walking away from the $8 billion project.

January 18, 2018
A U.S. trade commission is recommending that the Trump administration impose tariffs of up to 35 percent to slow an influx of low-cost solar panels imported from China and other countries. (Associated Press/File)

Donald Trump eyes solar power tariffs on China

American manufacturers say cheap solar-power materials from China and other countries have undercut them and want stiff financial penalties to level the playing field — but industry leaders fear the booming sector could collapse if President Trump chooses to implement tariffs.

January 16, 2018
Veterans make up about 19 percent of the corn ethanol workforce, according to federal Energy Department figures — the largest percentage of veterans in any energy subsector of the U.S. economy. (Associated Press/File)

EPA ethanol study now more than 8 years late

Five months into the Obama administration, the Environmental Protection Agency was supposed to complete a study looking at ethanol's effect on American air quality.

December 27, 2017