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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 Joe Biden listens as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks at the Pentagon, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

Biden stands up ‘China Task Force’ at the Pentagon

President Biden on Wednesday issued an urgent call for a governmentwide effort to reevaluate and confront the threat posed by China, making his first trip to the Pentagon as president to announce a high-level task force that could overhaul American military policy toward its chief 21st-century rival.

February 10, 2021
President Joe Biden salutes as he steps off Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. Biden is returning to Washington after spending the weekend at his home in Delaware. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Joe Biden to visit Pentagon amid force posture review, anti-extremism push

President Biden will visit the Pentagon on Wednesday for the first time since becoming commander in chief on Jan. 20 and will address a Defense Department in the midst of a major review of U.S. troop presence abroad, an anti-extremism push across all branches of the armed forces and other key changes in all corners of the military.

February 10, 2021
A victory in the June contest by a figure more radical than current Iranian President Hassan Rouhani could escalate Iran’s demands at the bargaining table and its destabilizing policies in the region, analysts say, putting in danger any hope of saving the nuclear pact. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

Iran, U.S. demand other move first to rejoining nuclear deal

The United States and Iran are at a diplomatic stalemate as both sides dig in and refuse to make the first move toward the resurrection of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers, including the U.S.

February 7, 2021
Gen. Herbert Carlisle speaks to reporters at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014. Carlisle said there have been some unsafe midair encounters after China declared an air defense identification zone over disputed islands in the East China Sea, like a Chinese jet that came within 30 feet of a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon plane in August, but most interactions between different countries’ aircraft have been very safe to a large extent. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy) **FILE**

COVID-19 woes add to defense industry’s burdens, survey says

In its second annual "Vital Signs" industry report card, the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) -- the leading trade group for American defense contractors -- gave the sector a "C" grade, a barely passing mark that points to troubling trends that have direct effects on U.S. national security at home and military superiority abroad.

February 2, 2021
In this Feb. 20, 2020, file photo, a member of the U.S. Air Force stands near a Patriot missile battery at the Prince Sultan Air Base in al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia. The U.S. military is exploring the possibility using a Red Sea port in Saudi Arabia and an additional two airfields there amid heightened tensions with Iran, the military said Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via AP, File)

U.S. eyes Saudi bases in ‘contingency’ planning for clash with Iran

The Pentagon is eyeing the possibility of using three sites in Saudi Arabia as key staging areas in the event of war in the Middle East, officials said Tuesday in another sign that the U.S. military expects tensions with Iran to remain high for the foreseeable future.

January 26, 2021
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, speaks during fifth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee in Beijing on Oct 29, 2020. (Ju Peng/Xinhua via AP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping warns U.S. of ‘new Cold War’

The U.S. effort to rally the world against China risks sparking a "new Cold War," Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Monday in his most striking comments to date on the increasingly bitter power struggle unfolding between Washington and Beijing.

January 25, 2021
An MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft. (Image: U.S. Army) ** FILE **

U.S. drone malfunctions, makes emergency landing in Niger

A U.S. military drone malfunctioned and was forced to make an emergency landing in Niger over the weekend, Pentagon officials said after images emerged on social media that seem to show the MQ-1C Gray Eagle sitting in an abandoned field near the city of Agadez.

January 25, 2021
National Guard troops reinforce security around the U.S. Capitol ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

National Guard troops vetted amid insider attack fears

The Pentagon and federal law enforcement are leaving "no stone unturned" as they mount an unprecedented vetting process for the 25,000 National Guard troops charged with securing Washington this week.

January 18, 2021