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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 - In this July 20, 2013 file photo, a plant that produces ethanol is next to a cornfield near Coon Rapids, Iowa. For decades, a presidential candidate’s chances in Iowa were wounded if not doomed unless he embraced federal support for ethanol, a now flourishing component to Iowa’s economy in this corn-growing state. That immutable rule collapsed resoundingly early in the last campaign when five of the six top Republican candidates largely renounced a decades-old ethanol tax credit. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

Ethanol mandate threatens jobs, could raise prices at pumps, oil refiners say

A renewed war over the federal ethanol mandate has cast a cloud over the biofuels industry as it gathers this week for its annual convention, with critics charging that the sector and its champions in Washington are slowly crushing oil refiners, which say they are struggling to comply with the law.

February 12, 2018
Sen. Ted Cruz has become public enemy No. 1 for the ethanol industry. He's held up federal nominees over his opposition to the national biofuels mandate. talks with a reporter as he gets on an elevator on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (Associated Press)

Ted Cruz battles ethanol industry over national biofuels mandate

SAN ANTONIO | As ethanol leaders meet here in the heart of his home turf, Sen. Ted Cruz has emerged as Washington's leading critic of the industry, holding up federal nominees over his opposition to the national biofuels mandate, lambasting the sector in fiery Senate floor speeches, and leading a coalition of oil-friendly lawmakers to the Oval Office in hopes of weakening the Renewable Fuel Standard.

February 12, 2018
In this Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, photo, coal ash is removed from the Dan River Steam Station in Eden, N.C., to be transported by rail to a permanent site in Virginia. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Donald Trump push for ‘beautiful, clean coal’ reignites old debate

President Trump's declaration last week that his administration is pushing "beautiful, clean coal" has reignited a debate about whether such a fuel truly exists, with environmentalists and other critics — even including some industry leaders — charging that "clean coal" often is a misnomer and little more than a political catchphrase.

February 4, 2018
This sign located near the headquarters of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as seen Tuesday, July 17, 2007, in Austin, Texas, calls for the removal of chairwoman Kathleen Hartnett White. Tom "Smitty" Smith, of the watchdog group, Public Citizen, that sponsors the billboard, says they are targeting her because of the quality of her decision making, which they say has been bad for the environment in Texas. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Kathleen Hartnett White nomination as Trump environmental adviser to be pulled

Amid strong opposition and doubts that she'd be able to clear the Republican-controlled Senate, the nomination of Kathleen Hartnett White to serve as President Trump's top environmental adviser was shelved late Saturday in an admission by the White House that their pick was unlikely to be confirmed.

February 4, 2018
A flame burns at the Shell Deer Park oil refinery in Deer Park, Texas, on Aug. 31, 2017. (Associated Press) **FILE**

U.S. oil production hits highest level in nearly 50 years

Amid President Trump's vow to bring about American "energy dominance," U.S. crude oil production hit a five-decade high late last year and has nearly doubled over the past decade, continuing the country's steady ascent as one of the world's premier oil-and-gas hubs.

February 1, 2018
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke gave Florida a waiver out of the offshore drilling proposal. Now more states are also trying to get passes out of the energy plan. (Associated Press)

Governors want offshore oil drilling exemptions, too

By giving Florida a waiver from its massive offshore drilling proposal, the Trump administration has opened a door that virtually every East Coast state, including those led by Republicans, is now trying to rush through.

January 28, 2018
A change in federal requirements that regulate the fuel efficiency of new cars and trucks could mean consumers pay less per car but more for gasoline. (Associated Press/File)

Automakers, environmentalists battle over CAFE standards

The Washington Auto Show this week is the backdrop for a high-stakes fight between environmentalists and the American auto industry, with each side pressing its case ahead of a key Trump administration decision on whether to relax national fuel economy standards.

January 25, 2018
This April 20, 2011, file photo shows some of the 30,000 solar panels that make up the Public Service Company of New Mexico's new 2-megawatt photovoltaic array in Albuquerque, N.M. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan,File) **FILE**

Energy Dept. launches $3M solar manufacturing competition

Two days after President Trump slapped a 30 percent tariff on foreign solar panels, Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Wednesday announced a $3 million grant competition to spur America's solar manufacturing sector.

January 24, 2018