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Ben Wolfgang

Ben Wolfgang

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

President Obama speaks at the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in El Reno, Okla., on July 16, 2015. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Obama renews push for criminal justice reform

President Obama over the weekend renewed his push for criminal justice reform and again made the case that it's wrong to imprison Americans for nonviolent drug offenses. Published October 17, 2015

This photo taken April 23, 2015, shows the Colowyo Coal Mine near Craig, Colo. Federal regulators have recommended that the mine, which has been threatened with closure partly over its impacts on climate change, remain open for now. (Patrick Kelly/Craig Daily Press via AP)

Obama doles out money to struggling coal towns

As his environmental regulations wipe out jobs in the coal industry and potentially drive up the price of electricity, President Obama on Thursday doled out more than $14 million to communities in Kentucky, West Virginia and other areas in the hopes of moving displaced coal workers into other lines of work. Published October 15, 2015

"It would be very difficult for Barack Obama to win a third term. He lost independents a long time ago. What's keeping him afloat is essentially the Democratic base. ... we shouldn't forget he lost 5 million votes from 2008 to 2012. I imagine if he ran again he might lose a couple million more," said Lara Brown, a political science professor at George Washington University. (Associated Press)

Obama confident he could win a third term as president

Thanks to George Washington, Barack Obama cannot seek a third term, but the president confidently proclaimed this week that he believes he could secure another four years in the White House -- a boast some analysts quickly cast as wholly unrealistic, perhaps even politically delusional. Published October 14, 2015

"I'm the only candidate in either party, I believe, to do this — to move America forward to a 100 percent clean electric grid by 2050. We did not land a man on the moon with an all-of-the-above energy strategy," said former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley. "It was an intentional engineering challenge and we solved it as a nation and our nation must solve this one." (Associated Press)

Obama energy strategy rejected by Democratic candidates in debate

The Democratic party's presidential contenders -- with one exception -- vowed Tuesday night to go further than President Obama in fighting climate change and some said the administration's "all-of-the-above" energy strategy is a mistake. Published October 13, 2015

President Obama made clear in his veto threat that the administration will not go along with any legislation that furthers U.S. reliance on fossil fuels, and that stand comes despite the fact that the federal government's own data have shown ending the oil export ban could lower domestic gas prices. (Associated Press)

Obama stands firm against lifting U.S. oil export ban despite potential economic benefits

By threatening to veto a bill greenlighting oil exports, President Obama last week sent a powerful message to Congress and to the American public: The administration is unlikely to sign off on any measures expanding fossil fuel production and sales, even if those measures carry economic benefits for the U.S. and national security benefits for key allies around the world. Published October 11, 2015

Senate Environment Committee Chairman Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, in this Jan. 7, 2015 file photo (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Court halts EPA’s controversial water rule

A federal appeals court dealt the Obama administration's environmental agenda a major blow, halting a water rule and saying more time is needed to determine whether the regulations are legal. Published October 9, 2015

Vice President Joe Biden waves to the crowd after he speaks, during Human Rights Campaign National Dinner at Walter E. Washington Convention Center, in Washington, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) ** FILE **

Joe Biden clings to Obama record, boasts that he ‘administered’ stimulus package

As he ponders a White House run in 2016, Vice President Joseph R. Biden on Thursday clung to President Obama's record on everything from health care to the auto industry bailout, boasting that he single-handedly "administered" the administration's $800 billion stimulus package and even calling it the most "competently run program" in American history. Published October 8, 2015

President Obama speaks to a group of state legislators in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in part of the White House complex in Washington on Sept. 30, 2015. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

Obama threatens to veto bill allowing U.S. oil exports

President Obama on Wednesday threatened to veto a House bill that would end the nation's 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports and open international markets to abundant American fuel. Published October 7, 2015

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy attends a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, Monday, Oct. 5, 2015. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) ** FILE **

EPA blocking legal challenges to power-plant regulations, 14 states charge

A coalition of 14 states charged Wednesday that the Environmental Protection Agency is holding up legal reviews of highly controversial restrictions on carbon pollution, essentially leaving states powerless as the climate-change rules move closer to implementation. Published October 7, 2015

President Obama speaks about the Oregon shootings and his agenda for gun control.

Obama pitches Trans-Pacific Partnership to U.S. businesses

President Obama has launched what promises to be a monthslong public relations push to get skeptical lawmakers on board with a controversial trade deal between the U.S. and Pacific nations, and he used a brief speech at the Agriculture Department Tuesday to recruit top business leaders to help promote the landmark agreement. Published October 6, 2015