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Ben Wolfgang

Ben Wolfgang is a National Security Correspondent for The Washington Times. His reporting is regularly featured in the daily Threat Status newsletter.
Previously, he covered energy and the environment, Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016, and also spent two years as a White House correspondent during the Obama administration.
Before coming to The Times in 2011, Ben worked as political reporter at The Republican-Herald in Pottsville, Pa.
He can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Ben Wolfgang

Marco Rubio, Florida Republican: ‘The American people deserve’ James Comey testimony

Marco Rubio said the coming testimony of James Comey will be a crucial moment for the investigation into Russian meddling in the U.S. election.

May 21, 2017

Donald Trump to call terrorism fight a ‘battle between good and evil’ in speech to Muslim world

President Trump will cast the fight against terrorism as a "battle between good and evil" and will tell Muslim countries that it's up to them to decide what kind of future they want in the Middle East.

May 21, 2017

Obama’s State Department made U.S. key to Paris climate accord

Newly released documents show just how badly the State Department wanted to get the U.S. into -- and now to remain a party to -- the Paris climate agreement that President Trump opposed in his campaign.

May 18, 2017

Donald Trump turns environmental activists from government friends to foes

Environmental activists have gone from being the government's closest allies to being nonstop litigants in just four months, filing lawsuits on a weekly basis challenging virtually every move the Trump administration has made in its deregulatory push.

May 17, 2017

EPA reaches settlement with Pebble mine company; stalled Alaska project could go forward

The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday announced a legal settlement that could allow a highly controversial Alaska mine project to move forward.

May 12, 2017

Scott Pruitt: Obama was no ‘environmental savior,’ past administration accomplished nothing

Former President Obama is widely revered by activists and progressive Democrats for his actions on climate change, but Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt on Thursday challenged those credentials and said the former commander in chief was no "environmental savior."

May 11, 2017

Environmentalists celebrate surprise victory as Senate upholds Obama-era methane rule

Sen. John McCain on Wednesday handed Republican leadership and President Trump a stinging legislative defeat as he cast a surprise deciding vote to maintain an Obama-era regulation limiting methane emissions from oil and gas wells.

May 10, 2017

Monument review could open up 2.7 million acres to coal mining, oil drilling: Report

An area larger than Yellowstone National Park could be opened up for fossil fuel development as a result of the Trump administration's ongoing review of national monuments, according to a study from environmentalists who deeply oppose such energy exploration.

May 10, 2017

Ryan Zinke, interior secretary, admires monuments before review to revoke designations

Based on the beautiful pictures and effusive praise he has posted to Twitter this week from one of the nation's newest national monuments, you might never guess that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke could set into motion the process to erase it from the map.

May 9, 2017

Ethanol proponents urge Canada to raise renewable-fuel levels for gasoline

Faced with an uncertain future in the U.S., ethanol proponents have mounted a public push north of the border, urging Canada to raise its own renewable-fuel levels for gasoline.

May 8, 2017

EPA under fire for cleaning house at scientific review board; 9 members’ terms not renewed

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt came under fire Monday after he began cleaning house at a key scientific review board, with critics charging the agency once again is prioritizing politics over science.

May 8, 2017

Ryan Zinke promises to hear out protesters of rescinding national monuments

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Sunday launched a "listening tour" across Utah designed to quell an uproar over his department's controversial review of national monuments.

May 7, 2017

Interior Dept names 26 monuments under review

Following through on an executive order signed by President Trump last week, the Interior Department on Friday released a list of the 21 national monuments and five marine monuments now under federal review.

May 5, 2017

Environmentalist groups file lawsuit against drilling plan

A coalition of the nation's most powerful environmental groups filed a lawsuit Wednesday to stop President Trump's plan to open up new areas of the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans to offshore drilling.

May 3, 2017

Paris climate deal in jeopardy as Trump’s decision looms

With President Trump's decision just days away, the Paris climate accord appears to be in jeopardy as officials inside the White House and powerful conservatives outside government capture momentum by seizing on thorny legal questions that would arise from keeping the deal while the administration simultaneously guts the regulations needed to help the U.S. meet its promise.

May 3, 2017

Oil and gas group says U.S. can cut emissions without Paris climate deal, urges withdrawal

A prominent oil and gas industry group said Monday the U.S. has dramatically reduced greenhouse-gas emissions without burdensome regulations and international deals, urging President Trump to withdraw from the landmark Paris climate agreement and allow market forces to drive energy policy.

May 1, 2017

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