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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

FILE - This combination of file photos shows Wisconsin U.S. Senate candidates in the November election from left, Democratic incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Republican Leah Vukmir. (Janesville Gazette/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP, File)

Tammy Baldwin fends off GOP’s Leah Vukmir

Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin sailed to re-election Tuesday, fending off a challenge from Republican Leah Vukmir in Wisconsin and ending the GOP's hopes of picking up a seat in a state President Trump won in 2016.

November 6, 2018
In this Sunday, March 30, 2014, file photo, Islamic State group militants hold up their flag as they patrol in a commandeered Iraqi military vehicle in Fallujah, 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Iraq. (AP Photo, File)

Elimination of ISIS ‘could take years,’ Pentagon inspector general says

The Islamic State has lost the vast majority of physical territory it once held, but fully defeating the terrorist group and rooting out sleeper cells that have spread across the Middle East and Africa "could take years," the Defense Department inspector general said in a sweeping report Monday that suggests final victory remains far off.

November 5, 2018
Sen. Joe Manchin speaks to reporters after a debate with Patrick Morrisey Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018, in Morgantown, W.Va. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican challenger Patrick Morrisey sparred on several issues during their only debate Thursday night, including the opioid epidemic and the confirmation of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. (AP Photo/Raymond Thompson)

Joe Manchin-Patrick Morrisey West Virginia Senate debate hits opioids, Trump

From opioids to open borders to President Trump's pick for the Supreme Court, the race to represent West Virginia in the U.S. Senate turned ugly Thursday night as the two candidates traded vicious attacks on each other's credibility and made their final pitches to undecided voters in the crucial contest.

November 1, 2018
Sen. Joe Manchin III, West Virginia Democrat, faces a tough re-election bid next year. Republican candidates have waged a nasty battle to win the party primary, and the race has room to grow. (Associated Press/File)

Joe Manchin social media accounts hacked

Hours before a key debate against his Republican opponent here on Thursday night, Sen. Joe Manchin's social media accounts were hacked, his Senate office confirmed.

November 1, 2018
Sen. Joe Manchin III is the only choice for liberals in the Mountain State despite some of the Democrat’s conservative votes. (Associated Press photo)

Joe Manchin wins West Virginia liberal support despite Kavanaugh vote

Joe Manchin's disconnect from his own party reached its apex last month when he was the only Democrat to back Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court. The vote angered and bewildered liberals, though many across the state told The Washington Times this week that they will hold their noses and cast a ballot for him, anyway.

October 31, 2018
This June 5, 2018 file photo shows West Virginia Attorney General and GOP Senate candidate Patrick Morrisey at a press conference in Charleston, W.Va. (Craig Hudson/Charleston Gazette-Mail via AP, File) **FILE**

Manchin, Morrisey clash on health care as crucial West Virginia Senate contest looms

With just one week until Election Day in a contest that could prove crucial in determining which party controls the Senate, incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III clashed Tuesday with his Republican foe, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, as both men tried to undermine the other's credibility on health care and continued protections for preexisting conditions.

October 30, 2018
This Thursday, April 5, 2018, file photo, shows a media center the Islamic State group used to screen propaganda videos, which was destroyed last summer during fighting between U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces fighters and Islamic State militants, in Raqqa, Syria. Six months after IS was driven out, residents of Raqqa feel they have been abandoned as the world moves on. They are trying to rebuild but fear everyone around them: the Kurdish-led militia that administers the majority Arab city; Syrian government forces nearby; gangs who kidnap or rob whoever shows signs of having money; and IS militants who may still be hiding among the people. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

ISIS media empire destroyed by U.S. cybercampaign

At its peak, the Islamic State's online propaganda machine was one of the group's most potent weapons, a calling card that distinguished it from any other terrorist organization that the world had ever seen.

October 25, 2018
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis welcomes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the Pentagon in Washington, Thursday, March 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Jamal Khashoggi killing hits Pentagon, Saudi Arabia relationship

The admitted killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi government agents is risking not only Washington's long-standing diplomatic and economic ties with Riyadh, but could also imperil one of the Pentagon's most vital military partnerships.

October 23, 2018
President Donald Trump stops to talk to members of the media before walking across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 22, 2018, to board Marine One helicopter for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., en route to Houston. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Donald Trump threatens to pull out of Russia nuclear treaty

Washington and Moscow returned to Cold War-style rhetoric Monday as President Trump ratcheted up his threat to unilaterally pull the U.S. out of a key agreement that has kept the nuclear arsenals of both sides in check since the Reagan era.

October 22, 2018
Space Force images on T-shirts, coffee mugs, hats and other merchandise have become a national craze. (Associated Press/File)

Donald Trump’s Space Force ignites merchandise sales

President Trump's plan for a military Space Force has not gotten off the ground yet, but it already has launched a merchandising craze of Space Force-themed T-shirts, coffee mugs, spiral notebooks and throw pillows.

October 21, 2018
Manchin

Joe Manchin courts West Virginia voters in Senate race against Patrick Morrisey

Sen. Joe Manchin III on Thursday trotted out three "longtime friends" — Alabama football coach Nick Saban, West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins and NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West — to talk up the senator's bipartisan bona fides in a campaign commercial aimed at undecided West Virginia voters.

October 18, 2018
The Pentagon vehemently denies that the White House exerted any political pressure throughout the process for awarding the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract, which ultimately went to Microsoft. (Associated Press/File)

Troops say military more politically divided under Donald Trump: Poll

The sharp partisan divide in America has extended to the armed forces as the military becomes more politically polarized during the Donald Trump era, according to a recent survey of active-duty troops that found an even split in approval for the president.

October 18, 2018