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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 tours the U.S. Steel Irvin Plant, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014, in West Mifflin, Pa., before speaking about retirement policies he highlighted in the State of the Union address. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Obama creates ‘MyRa’ accounts

At the second stop of his post-State of the Union road trip, President Obama on Wednesday officially established a new retirement plan for working Americans and promised his broader economic agenda will help rebuild a struggling middle class.

January 29, 2014
President Barack Obama gives his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday Jan. 28, 2014, as Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, listen. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Obama throws in towel on global-warming legislation

President Obama came to office promising significant action to fight climate change, and Tuesday night's State of the Union indicates this administration fully recognizes any action on that issue over the next three years will come not through legislation but through regulations and executive actions. Rather than call for a "comprehensive energy and climate bill" as he did in 2010, Mr. Obama on Tuesday focused on much smaller goals and touted the controversial efforts of his Environmental Protection Agency to cut down on carbon emissions from power plants.

January 28, 2014
White House press secretary Jay Carney gestures as he speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 27, 2014. Carney discussed Syria, security for the Sochi Olympics, and other topics. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

White House: Don’t judge Obama by what Congress does

Average Americans rightfully are frustrated with Congress, White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday, but they should not decide whether President Obama's time in office has been a success or a failure based solely on "the amount of legislation that passes" the House and Senate.

January 27, 2014
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell kept press out of a meeting in Colorado to ensure an "open and frank conversation," said her spokesman. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Reporters barred from Interior Department event

The Obama administration's testy relationship with the press is nothing new for Washington, but it's now extended to Colorado and has touched off a firestorm after Interior Department officials booted local reporters from a public meeting last week.

January 26, 2014
"My aim is to make sure that energy remains affordable for households and companies," says Gunther Oettinger, energy commissioner for the European Commission. Leaders in the European Union are revamping their approach to climate change because higher energy costs have not sit well with consumers in a struggling economy. (Associated Press)

Ambitious climate change goals too costly for EU

With "unintended consequences" of its ambitious agenda being felt in sluggish economies across the Continent, the European Union on Wednesday made a dramatic retreat from its climate change goals.

January 22, 2014
President Obama will meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican as part of a European trip scheduled for March. The White House says Mr. Obama "looks forward to discussing with Pope Francis their shared commitment to fighting poverty and growing inequality" during their March 27 meeting. (Associated Press)

Obama to meet with Pope Francis, a pontiff that even Democrats can embrace

Since Francis denounced "trickle-down economics" and income inequality in November, Mr. Obama and top congressional Democrats have used those words as ammunition in their push for a minimum-wage hike, an unconditional extension of long-term jobless aid and other goals that Republicans have resisted.

January 21, 2014
President Barack Obama talks about National Security Agency (NSA)surveillance, Friday, Jan. 17, 2014, at the Justice Department in Washington.Seeking to calm a furor over U.S. surveillance, the president called for ending the government's control of phone data from -hundreds of millions of Americans and immediately ordered intelligence agencies to get a secretive court's permission before accessing the records. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Early reviews slam Obama’s surveillance overhaul

President Obama's proposed changes to U.S. snooping and data-collection fell far short of what privacy advocates hoped for, and early reviews of the White House's revamped approach have been scathing.

January 17, 2014