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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

GOP senators noncommittal on inquiry into college funds

Senate Republicans still haven't decided whether they will show up for Tuesday's hearing on for-profit colleges, the primary target of the Education Department's controversial "gainful employment" rule released last week.

June 6, 2011
Arne Duncan

For-profit college regulation softer than anticipated

The Obama administration Thursday released its highly anticipated regulation for tougher oversight of private, for-profit colleges, saying the new rules were needed to protect students who were running up big tuition bills but getting few practical job skills.

June 2, 2011

D.C. charter schools up by 1

Three of the District's charter schools will not reopen in the fall, yet when the new school year begins, D.C. still will have more than it does now — a point that advocates for charter schools say proves their worth.

June 1, 2011
President Barack Obama, left, reaches out to residents while viewing damage from the tornado that devastated Joplin, Mo., Sunday, May 29, 2011. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Twister-ravaged Joplin gets promise of aid

President Obama on Sunday visited the site of a "national tragedy" in Joplin, Mo., where residents continue picking up the pieces after the devastating May 22 tornado that left more than 130 people dead and dozens more unaccounted for.

May 29, 2011
"Medicare will be a part of any agreement to begin to reduce our long-term debt," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, said Sunday. (Associated Press)

McConnell puts Medicare changes ‘on the table’

The GOP Senate leader says the Ryan Medicare plan is "on the table," but Democrats will have to agree to at least some cuts if there is going to be an agreement on controlling the country's staggering debt.

May 29, 2011

McCain: Lack of full U.S. military commitment hurts Libyans

Sen. John McCain on Sunday said Libyan civilians are dying in large part because the Obama administration has refused to commit the full weight of the nation's military to the fight to overthrow strongman Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

May 29, 2011

Report slams heavy focus on school testing

As Congress and the Obama administration weigh a major reform of education policy, the government should overhaul testing methods that have handcuffed teacher creativity and done little to boost student achievement, according to a new report from the National Research Council.

May 26, 2011
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is set to open a third round of Race to the Top education grants Wednesday. (Associated Press)

Feds ready 3rd round of ‘Race to Top’ for schools

Education Secretary Arne Duncan is expected to announce Wednesday morning the third round of Race to the Top, which will include new rewards for states that improve their pre-kindergarten education programs.

May 24, 2011
Piping is removed from a drill used in the "fracking" process to recover natural gas from the massive Marcellus Shale in Washington, Pa. The technology is changing Pennsylvania's economy. (Andrew S. Geraci/The Washington Times)

Locals cash in on natural gas boom in Pa.

Paul Battista opened his industrial supply store in the small town of Slovan, Pa., 31 years ago in the hopes of doing big business with the infant solar-power industry. Times have changed — and so has his customer base.

May 23, 2011

‘Don’t frack with our water,’ say foes

"Don't frack with our water!" For those who see a darker side to the Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling industry transforming these parts, that has become the new local rallying cry.

May 22, 2011
A fracking operation in Washington, Pa., has brought a demand for workers from across the country, and has suddenly transformed a sleepy Pittsburgh suburb into a boomtown. (Andrew S. Geraci/The Washington Times)

Shale motherlode brings world of change

Big energy companies have set up shop to tap the Marcellus Shale, a massive chunk of marine sedimentary rock stretching from the Finger Lakes region of New York as far south as Kentucky and Tennessee, holding within its subterranean grip vast deposits of natural gas.

May 22, 2011

Pa. intends ‘clear message’ with fine

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on Tuesday levied the largest fine in state history against an oil or gas company, sending what it called a "clear message" to Chesapeake Energy after several recent violations.

May 17, 2011

‘Healthier’ school lunch at what cost?

If the federal government gets its way, critics are warning, school lunches will be more expensive and less appetizing and ultimately will leave school districts footing the bill for costly food going down the garbage disposal.

May 16, 2011

Uniform education standards seen timely

The push by states to implement a "common core" of standards by 2014 presents an opportunity to revamp student assessment methods and correct problems that have plagued the system for the past decade, according to researchers.

May 16, 2011

Schools struggle to teach 9/11 to students too young to remember

The death of Osama bin Laden was the ultimate teachable moment, but it has left teachers, parents and educators scrambling to tell the story of Sept. 11 and the career of the world's most wanted terrorist to a new generation of schoolchildren — many of whom were not even born when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

May 10, 2011

For-profit colleges defend their stature

These aren't your parents' colleges. There are typically no sprawling campuses, no fraternities or sororities, no students reading books under trees and no sports teams.

May 4, 2011
** FILE ** Thomas J. Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber pushes GOP-backed reforms for nation’s schools

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday called on Congress to speed up its efforts to reform federal education policy and released a broad outline of priorities it says are crucial to student success across the country.

May 4, 2011
ASSOCIATED PRESS Former Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, here in 2008, says a loss of bipartisan cooperation is hampering current education reform efforts.

Spellings: Politics, lack of knowledge hurt school reform

Ten years ago, former President George W. Bush's signature education initiative, the No Child Left Behind Act, garnered strong bipartisan support and passed the Senate on an 87-10 vote. As Congress now starts work on a policy overhaul, that "planetary alignment" between the parties is nowhere to be found.

May 2, 2011