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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

President Barack Obama gives the commencement address as he attends the U.S. Coast Guard Academy graduation in New London, Conn., Wednesday, May 20, 2015. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Obama: Climate change a threat to homeland security, hurts military readiness

President Obama on Wednesday largely ignored major advances by the Islamic State, a nuclear North Korea and other threats to the U.S., and instead sounded an alarm on climate change, telling future military officers a warming planet is perhaps the most sweeping danger facing the nation today.

May 20, 2015
FILE - In this Dec. 19, 2014 file photo, oil pump jacks work in unison on a foggy morning in Williston, N.D. The North Dakota Legislature is looking at restructuring oil taxes as a hedge against falling crude prices. Oil companies could see a big tax cut if crude prices continue to slide, and the state could lose billions of dollars. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Crude oil exports bill offered by Senate Republicans, Democrats

Despite continued resistance from the Obama administration, a bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Tuesday to end the decadeslong ban on U.S. crude oil exports, a move they argue will provide economic benefits at home and offer greater energy security to allies around the world.

May 19, 2015
Chris Miller shows a flour solution from a specific strain of wheat at a research facility in the Wheat Innovation Center in Manhattan, Kan., Wednesday, March 11, 2015. Spectrum analysis is made of the solution. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Obama threatens to veto House science research funding bill

The White House on Monday night threatened to veto a House science, technology and innovation funding bill, saying the legislation makes unacceptably steep cuts for the National Science Foundation and other federal agencies.

May 18, 2015
President Obama tours the Real-Time Tactical Operational Intelligence Center in the Camden County (N.J.) Police Administration Building on Monday with Camden County Police Chief J. Scott Thomson. (Associated Press)

Obama seeks to end immigration enforcement by local, state police

The administration issued a report Monday saying that in order to rebuild trust between police and their communities, the federal government should stop enlisting state and local police in most immigration enforcement, setting up another challenge as President Obama tries to please immigrant rights advocates while carrying out deportations.

May 18, 2015
President Obama uses a cellphone to contact supporters during a surprise visit to meet volunteers at an Obama campaign office in Port St. Lucie, Fla. on Sept. 9, 2012. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Obama joins Twitter under @POTUS handle

President Obama joined Twitter on Monday, vowing to use his @POTUS account as a vehicle to communicate more directly with the American people.

May 18, 2015
In a Thursday, May 14, 2015, file photo, President Obama speaks during a news conference after meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council leaders and delegations at Camp David in Maryland. In a surprise announcement on Monday, May 18, 2015, coming nine months after police in riot gear dispelled racially charged protests, President Obama is banning the federal government from providing some military-style equipment to local departments and putting stricter controls on other weapons and gear distributed to law enforcement. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Obama to limit police access to military equipment

President Obama on Monday set new limits on police access to certain military equipment, part of a larger federal government response aimed at preventing the kind of unrest seen in Ferguson, Missouri, last year.

May 18, 2015
President Barack Obama, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson stand for a moment of silence at the 34th Annual National Peace Officers Memorial Service, Friday, May 15, 2015, on the West Front of the Capitol in Washington. The ceremony honors all law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Obama honors fallen officers at memorial service

President Obama on Friday honored 131 officers who lost their lives in 2014 and said the nation not only owes them a debt of gratitude but also also must pay tribute to their memories by fighting poverty and improving communities' relationships with law enforcement.

May 15, 2015
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio listens during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Republicans slam Obama for downplaying ‘low-tech’ Iran threat

Leading Republicans are slamming President Obama for seemingly downplaying the "low-tech" threat posed by Iran and brushing off international fears that Tehran could use money from economic sanctions relief to fuel more chaos in the Middle East.

May 15, 2015
President Obama (center) bids farewell to leaders from six Gulf nations, who are trying to work through tensions sparked by the U.S. bid for a nuclear deal with Iran, a pursuit that has put regional partners on edge. Mr. Obama is seeking to reassure the Gulf leaders that the U.S. overtures to Iran will not come at the expense of commitments to their security. (Associated Press)

Obama looks for global support on Iran nuke deal

Just hours after Congress cemented its authority to review any nuclear deal with Iran, President Obama said Thursday the U.S. and its Gulf allies are unified in their effort to not only stop Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons but also to transform the nation from regional troublemaker to peaceful neighbor.

May 14, 2015
President Barack Obama shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef during their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, May 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Obama pushes ahead with summit despite Arab absences

Despite the absence of key Arab leaders, President Obama forged ahead Wednesday with a summit of Persian Gulf states and said the U.S. is focused on deepening security ties in the region despite deep concerns about Mr. Obama's proposed nuclear deal with Iran.

May 13, 2015
Investigators examine the train derailment site, Wednesday, May 13, 2015, after a fatal Amtrak derailment Tuesday night, in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia. Federal investigators arrived Wednesday to determine why an Amtrak train jumped the tracks in a wreck that killed at least six people, and injured dozens. (Alejandro A. Alvarez/Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Obama ‘deeply saddened’ by Amtrak crash

President Obama said Wednesday he was "shocked and deeply saddened" by the Amtrak train crash that killed six people and injured more than 60 others Tuesday night.

May 13, 2015