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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 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
President Obama delivers the commencement address at Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown, S.D., on May 8, 2015. Obama visited South Dakota to promote his proposal to offer two years for free community college to qualified students. (Associated Press)

Obama: Free community college in ‘everybody’s interest’

President Obama on Friday called on Congress to close tax loopholes for millionaires and billionaires and use the savings to offer all Americans a higher education, saying that two years of free community college is in "everybody's interest."

May 8, 2015
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, left, leaves 10 Downing Street in London with a soldier, to attend a VE Day service at the Cenotaph, Friday, May 8, 2015. Cameron's Conservative Party swept to power Friday in Britain's Parliamentary elections winning an unexpected majority.  (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Obama congratulates David Cameron on U.K. election win

After a resounding election win for British Prime Minister David Cameron and his Conservative party, President Obama on Friday offered congratulations and vowed the U.S. and the U.K. will remain key partners on a host of global issues.

May 8, 2015