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Ben Wolfgang

Ben Wolfgang

bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com

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

A Nigerian soldier walks at the scene of an explosion suspected to be set by a Boko Haram extremist in Abuja, Nigeria, on June, 25, 2014. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Obama: U.S., Nigeria will defeat Boko Haram

President Obama on Monday reaffirmed his commitment to destroying the terrorist groups Boko Haram and the Islamic State, which have ramped up attacks in Nigeria and the Middle East, respectively, in recent days.

July 20, 2015
Mourners visited a makeshift memorial near the Armed Forces Career Center on Saturday for victims of the shootings in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Thursday. President Obama's time in office has been peppered with terrorist-related attacks, raising complex questions about his handling of the fight against Islamist terror. (Associated Press)

Obama’s resolve to fight Islamist terror questioned after latest attack on U.S. soil

President Obama so far has escaped a Sept. 11-style catastrophe, but his time in office still has been peppered with terrorist-related shootings from Fort Hood to Benghazi, raising complex questions about this administration's handling of the fight against Islamist terror and putting a spotlight on controversial domestic issues such as gun control.

July 19, 2015
President Barack Obama speaks at the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution, in El Reno, Okla., Thursday, July 16, 2015. As part of a weeklong focus on inequities in the criminal justice system, the president will meet separately Thursday with law enforcement officials and nonviolent drug offenders who are paying their debt to society at the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison for male offenders near Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Inside federal prison, Obama urges justice system reform

After meeting with inmates and becoming the first sitting president to visit a federal prison, President Obama said Thursday young people who make mistakes and use drugs should not be sentenced to decades behind bars.

July 16, 2015
FILE - This Sept. 30, 2014 file photo shows the Colstrip Steam Electric Station operated by Talen Energy in southeastern Montana. Coal companies and their supporters scored a courtroom victory with a U.S. Supreme Court decision that said the Obama administration failed to take potential costs into account when it decided to regulate toxic emissions from many power plants, Monday, June 29, 2015. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Obama targets coal industry with new water regulations

In the latest clash between the Obama administration and the U.S. coal industry, the Interior Department on Thursday released stringent new regulations requiring companies to monitor water quality and plant trees and vegetation in the area around mining sites.

July 16, 2015
President Barack Obama pauses speaks at Taylor Stratton Elementary School in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, July 1, 2015, about the Affordable Care Act. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) ** FILE **

Obama pushed to act on prison reforms

In demanding the nation overhaul its criminal justice system, President Obama has zeroed in on an issue ripe for true bipartisan action, but he's also given himself an immense political challenge as activists now expect him to deliver tangible results quickly.

July 15, 2015
Secretary of State John F. Kerry, who threatened to walk away from the Iran nuclear deal negotiations last week, said Sunday that "a few tough things" remain in the way but added, "We're getting to some real decisions." (Associated Press)

White House: No firm timetable on Iran talks

The White House said Monday that there's no firm timetable on reaching a final nuclear agreement with Iran, and Secretary of State John Kerry and other U.S. officials will remain in Vienna as long as negotiations remain constructive.

July 13, 2015
President Obama speaks at the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse on July 2, 2015, about the economy and to promote a proposed Labor Department rule that would make more workers eligible for overtime. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Obama commutes sentences for 46 drug offenders

President Obama on Monday commuted the sentences of 46 men and women convicted of nonviolent drug crimes, saying the cases exemplify why Congress must make permanent changes to the criminal justice system.

July 13, 2015

Republicans slam Obama’s latest ‘land grab’

Top Republicans are accusing President Obama of another "surreptitious land grab" after the administration claimed more than 1 million acres in California, Texas and Nevada to designate as national monuments.

July 10, 2015
The crude oil debate has once again pitted President Obama against his traditional friends in organized labor. Major labor unions also have criticized the president for refusing to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which the administration admits would create more than 40,000 jobs. (Associated Press)

Oil export ban support pits Obama against organized labor, allies in Congress

President Obama this week has found himself at odds with allies in Congress and in organized labor over lifting the 40-year ban on U.S. crude oil exports, with the White House still blocking efforts to ship American fuel abroad despite growing support for the idea and mounting evidence that exports will drive down domestic gasoline prices.

July 9, 2015