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Ben Wolfgang

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

As surveillance scandals swirl, Obama to sit down with privacy board

With concerns over federal surveillance near the boiling point, President Obama on Friday will hold his first meeting with the newly constituted Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, a senior administration official said.

June 21, 2013

Obama’s remarks about Catholic schools spark new fight with church

President Obama's remarks on Catholic schools during his trip to Northern Ireland this week have sparked an unexpected uproar, with critics accusing him of diminishing religious education.

June 20, 2013

Obama tells Berliners: ‘Here in the United States…’ during sweat-soaked speech

Defending U.S. surveillance and data-collection practices, President Obama on Wednesday told a crowd in Berlin that those programs help keep people safe "here in the United States."

June 19, 2013

In Brandenburg speech, Obama modifies old campaign goal of ‘a world without nuclear weapons’

President Obama used the backdrop of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate on Wednesday to renew calls for the U.S. to reduce its stockpile of nuclear warheads, but the modest disarmament push underscores just how much has changed for a man who five years ago drew 200,000 people for a similar speech in heart of the German capital.

June 19, 2013

Obama leaves G-8 summit without Syria breakthrough

President Obama left a high-level international summit Tuesday without having secured the major breakthrough on Syria he'd hoped to achieve.

June 18, 2013

Obama, Putin find agreement on nuclear weapons, despite Syria rift

Agreement on a policy toward Syria isn't likely, but President Obama and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, did find common ground on reducing the threat posed by nuclear weapons.

June 18, 2013

Russia’s sole support for Syria casts a pall over G-8

From the moment the Group of Eight summit began, the dividing lines on how to intervene in the Syrian civil war became clear: The U.S. and its European allies on one side, Russia on the other.

June 17, 2013

Canada’s Harper gives up on Russia over Syria, calls summit ‘G-7 plus 1’

Russia's support for the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad all but guarantees that the G-8 nations will not come to a unanimous decision on how to proceed with assisting Syrian rebels in the country's ongoing civil war.

June 17, 2013

Obama at G-8: Northern Ireland peace an example for war-torn world

The peace that's settled over Northern Ireland over the past 15 years gives hope to other nations embroiled in conflict and is "proof of what is possible," President Obama said Monday morning during a speech at Belfast's Waterfront Hall.

June 17, 2013

U.S. leadership on Syria brings long-awaited relief to Group of Eight allies

When President Obama arrives in Northern Ireland for the Group of Eight summit Monday, some U.S. allies will wonder why he was late to a different party — the decision to intervene more strongly in the Syrian civil war.

June 16, 2013

Russia rejects U.S. claims on Syria; Britain’s Cameron backs Obama shift

Russia, a longtime ally of embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad, Friday rejected new U.S. assertions that the regime had crossed President Obama's "red line" by deploying chemical weapons against rebels in the country's bloody civil war.

June 14, 2013

Obama says Syria has crossed ‘red line’ with chemical weapons, will send weapons

The Syrian government used chemical weapons against rebel forces trying to overthrow the regime, the Obama administration said Thursday, acknowledging that President Bashar Assad has without doubt crossed the "red line" President Obama laid down for U.S. action in the country's bloody civil war.

June 13, 2013

Harry Reid: Background checks will pass — only question is when

On the eve of the six-month anniversary of the Connecticut school shooting, the White House and congressional leaders vowed to continue pushing for new gun controls — but the aftermath of recent mass shootings suggests such an effort is easier said than done.

June 13, 2013

White House ‘welcomes’ Bill Clinton’s critique of Syria policy

While not directly addressing Bill Clinton's criticism of the Obama administration's Syria policy, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Thursday that the 42nd president has offered "valid" opinions on the deteriorating situation in the Middle Eastern country.

June 13, 2013

Carney: Change in administration’s Plan B policy driven by court decision

It was an appeals court decision last week that led the Obama administration on Monday to give up its fight to keep age restrictions on Plan B morning-after pills, according to his spokesman.

June 11, 2013

Obama throws weight behind immigration overhaul bill

Reprising his role as cheerleader in chief, President Obama on Tuesday urged the Senate to quickly pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill and dismissed as unfounded Republican concerns about border security.

June 11, 2013

Obama administration drops its appeal of Plan B ruling, will widen access to drug

President Obama still harbors deep reservations about letting young girls buy the morning-after pill without a prescription, even though his administration has decided against fighting a court order that forces it to do just that, his spokesman said Tuesday.

June 11, 2013

College presidents can’t hide mistakes; social media root out scandals

A series of high-profile scandals have forced leading university presidents — including Ohio State University's E. Gordon Gee and Florida Atlantic University's Mary Jane Saunders — to resign amid unprecedented scrutiny.

June 10, 2013

White House presses GOP to confirm ATF chief; Grassley says more answers needed

The White House and former law enforcement officials on Monday urged the swift confirmation of B. Todd Jones to be the permanent director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), renewing a largely dormant battle over gun control six months after December's school shootings in Connecticut.

June 10, 2013

Obama calls on Congress to hike minimum wage, close gender pay gap

Hearkening back to his presidential campaigns and to his first few days in office, President Obama on Monday called on Congress to enact laws ensuring women and men are paid equally for the same work.

June 10, 2013

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Ben Wolfgang

Articles by Ben Wolfgang

As surveillance scandals swirl, Obama to sit down with privacy board

Obama’s remarks about Catholic schools spark new fight with church

Obama tells Berliners: ‘Here in the United States…’ during sweat-soaked speech

In Brandenburg speech, Obama modifies old campaign goal of ‘a world without nuclear weapons’

Obama leaves G-8 summit without Syria breakthrough

Obama, Putin find agreement on nuclear weapons, despite Syria rift

Russia’s sole support for Syria casts a pall over G-8

Canada’s Harper gives up on Russia over Syria, calls summit ‘G-7 plus 1’

Obama at G-8: Northern Ireland peace an example for war-torn world

U.S. leadership on Syria brings long-awaited relief to Group of Eight allies

Russia rejects U.S. claims on Syria; Britain’s Cameron backs Obama shift

Obama says Syria has crossed ‘red line’ with chemical weapons, will send weapons

Harry Reid: Background checks will pass — only question is when

White House ‘welcomes’ Bill Clinton’s critique of Syria policy

Carney: Change in administration’s Plan B policy driven by court decision

Obama throws weight behind immigration overhaul bill

Obama administration drops its appeal of Plan B ruling, will widen access to drug

College presidents can’t hide mistakes; social media root out scandals

White House presses GOP to confirm ATF chief; Grassley says more answers needed

Obama calls on Congress to hike minimum wage, close gender pay gap