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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

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., talks with a staffer on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Jan. 22, 2018, after passage of a procedural vote aimed at reopening the government. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Joe Manchin walking tight rope in West Virginia for midterm elections

The Senate's most conservative Democrat is a top target for the GOP in this year's midterm elections, but some analysts say Joe Manchin's ability to walk a tight rope in his deep red state — combined with an increasingly bitter Republican primary that could damage the eventual winner, as the candidates bash each other on opioids and other issues — should make him the favorite to win another term.

March 4, 2018
"This morning, we had a very positive and productive meeting on fixing the broken [ethanol] system. I commend President Trump for bringing the two sides together and for leaning in hard to find a win-win solution that benefits both Iowa farmers and blue-collar refinery workers," said Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican. (Associated Press/File)

Ted Cruz pulls Donald Trump away from ethanol

Key senators left a White House meeting Tuesday with no concrete resolution on the future of federal ethanol policy, but critics of the Renewable Fuel Standard suggested that they are slowly pulling President Trump to a deal that will benefit the oil industry.

February 27, 2018
"This morning, we had a very positive and productive meeting on fixing the broken [ethanol] system. I commend President Trump for bringing the two sides together and for leaning in hard to find a win-win solution that benefits both Iowa farmers and blue-collar refinery workers," said Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican. (Associated Press/File)

Ted Cruz hails ‘productive meeting’ with Trump about reforming federal Renewable Fuel Standard

Key senators left a White House meeting Tuesday with no concrete resolution on the future of federal ethanol policy, but critics of the Renewable Fuel Standard suggested they're slowly pulling President Trump to their side and expect to reach a deal that benefits their allies in the oil industry in the coming weeks. "We made real progress, and, with the president's leadership, I believe we are close to solving the problem," said Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican.

February 27, 2018
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel speaks before a CNN town hall broadcast, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018, at the BB&T Center, in Sunrise, Fla. (Michael Laughlin/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP) ** FILE **

Scot Peterson vs. school gunman raises debate

On one hand, Scot Peterson has been branded a coward by President Trump, and leading Florida officials and even his own former boss say they are disgusted by his inaction.

February 25, 2018
Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, is the chief sponsor of the Fix NICS bill to add federal agency records and press states to ensure their records are part of the national background check system for gun sales. (Associated Press/File)

Gun control debate greets Congress after Florida shooting

Congress appears to be settling on the outlines of consensus for action on stricter gun controls, with moves to strengthen the background check system and to restrict sales of bump stocks the most likely areas of bipartisan action.

February 25, 2018
In this April 12, 2016, file photo, Sen. Patrick J. Toomey, R-Pa., speaks to reporters outside his office on Capitol Hill, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

Pat Toomey resurrects background checks bill

Sen. Pat Toomey on Sunday said he intends to give his expanded background checks legislation "another shot" in the wake of a massacre at a Florida high school earlier this month.

February 25, 2018
This Feb. 18, 2015 image taken from video provided by Broward County Public Schools shows school resource officer Scot Peterson during a school board meeting of Broward County, Fla. During the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018, Peterson took up a position viewing the western entrance of the building for more than four minutes after the shooting started, but "he never went in," Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said at a news conference.  Peterson, was suspended without pay and placed under investigation, then chose to resign, Israel said  (Broward County Public Schools via AP)

Scot Peterson blasted for not entering Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during shooting

Scot Peterson, the former Broward County sheriff's deputy who failed to confront a gunman inside the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the Feb. 14 massacre, came under fire from all sides Sunday as a victim's father labeled him a "coward," the state's governor said the entire state is "disgusted" by his handling of the situation and even Mr. Peterson's former boss said the failure to act makes him "sick."

February 25, 2018
Florida Governor Rick Scott lays out his school safety proposal during a press conference at the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla., Friday, Feb 23, 2018. Scott proposed banning the sale of firearms to anyone younger than 21 as part of a plan to prevent gun violence. (AP Photo/Mark Wallheiser)

Rick Scott on Trump plan to arm teachers: ‘I disagree with him’

As he pushes his own comprehensive package to address gun violence and school safety, Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Sunday pushed back hard against President Trump's suggestion that some teachers be allowed to have their own firearms in the classroom.

February 25, 2018
This undated image provided by Tesla Motors shows the Tesla Model 3 sedan. The electric car company’s newest vehicle, the Model 3, which set to go to its first 30 customers Friday, July 28, 2017, is half the cost of previous models. Its $35,000 starting price and 215-mile range could bring hundreds of thousands of customers into Tesla’s fold, taking it from a niche luxury brand to the mainstream. (Courtesy of Tesla Motors via AP)

Ethanol, oil industries find common enemy in electric cars

Even as they're locked in a bitter, high-stakes battle over the federal Renewable Fuel Standard, the ethanol and oil industries each say they need to put aside differences and work together to prepare for an existential threat to both of their futures: electric cars.

February 22, 2018
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