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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 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
In this Feb. 1, 2012 file photo, miles of pipe for the stalled Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline are stacked in a field near Ripley, Okla. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File) — FILE

Keystone pipeline divides Congress as deadline nears

With a decision looming, both sides of the Keystone XL pipeline debate are making last-ditch appeals to President Obama, with opponents saying the project fails the White House's climate test and supporters arguing it's a no-brainer that will spur U.S. energy independence and economic growth.

July 1, 2015
The White House this week once again is zeroing in on climate change, a top priority for President Obama during his final 18 months in office. (Associated Press)

Obama climate change agenda faces legal, political resistance

With Barack Obama's legacy on health care seemingly secure after last week's landmark Supreme Court decision, the president's ambitious environmental agenda will come into sharper focus -- but a host of legal challenges and growing defiance across the country threaten his efforts to fight climate change.

June 30, 2015