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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

In this Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, photo, President Barack Obama listens in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington as Ashton Carter speaks during the announcement of Carter for defense secretary. The White House says President Barack Obama is getting some medical tests at a military hospital just outside Washington after complaining of a sore throat. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Obama visits doctor at Walter Reed for acid reflux

President Obama made a trip to his doctor Saturday afternoon for treatment of a sore throat and was diagnosed with "soft tissue inflammation related to acid reflux" after a routine CT scan. Published December 6, 2014

FILE - In this Oct. 13, 2013, file photo, Stephen Colbert delivers the keynote address during the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, a charity gala organized by the Archdiocese of New York, at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York. Comedy Central says President Barack Obama will be on hand Monday, Dec. 8, 2014, as Colbert begins his final two weeks as the fake cable news bloviator on "The Colbert Report." Colbert is taking over for David Letterman on CBS' "Late Show" next year and his last appearance in character on Comedy Central will be on Dec. 18. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)

Obama to sit down with Stephen Colbert on Monday

President Obama will sit down with Stephen Colbert on Monday night, just days before the Comedy Central host leaves the network to replace David Letterman on "The Late Show." Published December 5, 2014

But political analysts say President Obama, despite noble intentions, is taking a risk on two fronts by consistently addressing accusations of police misconduct and the fallout, including this week's decision by a grand jury in New York City not to charge a police officer in the choking death this summer of a 43-year-old black man. (Associated Press)

Obama addresses Ferguson, Eric Garner controversies, risks credibility if no action taken

President Obama's decision this week to wade once again into accusations of police misconduct has added more fuel to a raging national debate, but it also has raised questions about whether the commander in chief has backed himself into a corner and will be expected to weigh in on every single controversial action by law enforcement. Published December 4, 2014

Marines hold umbrellas as President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan participate in a joint news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Thursday, May 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Obama: Congress, not White House, micromanaging the Pentagon

Pushing back against charges the White House has micromanaged the Defense Department, administration officials Thursday pushed the blame to Congress, saying lawmakers are the ones micromanaging what happens at the Pentagon by refusing to tackle needed budget reforms. Published December 4, 2014

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden pose with the full Cabinet for an official group photo in the East Room of the White House on Sept. 10, 2009. Seated from left: Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. Standing second row, from left: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Susan E. Rice, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Back row, from left: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag, and Council of Economic Advisers Chair Christina Romer. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy) This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, or promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.

Duncan, Vilsack are last 2 original Obama Cabinet secretaries

Scandal, charges of incompetence and sudden resignations have left President Obama's Cabinet in a state of flux these days, but in two corners of the federal government, the White House has found unusual stability. Published December 3, 2014

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton ducks as an object is thrown on stage during an address to members of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries during their annual convention at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Thursday, April 10, 2014, in Las Vegas. Clinton, a possible presidential contender in 2016, ducked but did not appear to be hit by the object, and then joked about the incident. Security ushered out a woman who said she threw a shoe but didn't identify herself to reporters or explain the action. (AP Photo/Las Vegas Sun, Steve Marcus) LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL OUT

Hillary Clinton dodges mention of Keystone pipeline in environmental speech

Hillary Clinton's refusal to even mention the Keystone XL pipeline — let alone take a public position on the project — during a high-profile speech Monday night underscores the mystery surrounding her energy platform, with both environmentalists and coal advocates believing the former secretary of state could be an ally of theirs if she seeks the White House in 2016. Published December 2, 2014

President Obama this month rallied environmentalists by reaching a deal with China to curb carbon emissions, but it could be reversed easily by his successor. (Associated Press)

Obama’s bold climate change policies may end with his term

President Obama has received plenty of credit from environmentalists — along with heavy bipartisan criticism — for his dramatic actions to fight climate change, but the fate of his agenda rests largely with his White House successor. Published November 27, 2014

For President Obama, the new smog rules — dubbed "the most expensive regulation" in American history by manufacturing leaders — allow him to once again bask in the praise of the environmental community, which views this White House as perhaps the most consequential in U.S. history when it comes to its issues. (Associated Press)

Obama administration formally proposes new smog, ozone standards

President Obama on Wednesday checked off yet another major item on environmentalists' wish list by targeting smog, further solidifying his legacy on green issues but also angering big business and giving Republicans fresh ammunition heading into the final 24 months of this administration. Published November 26, 2014

Shan Zhao, owner of On On Cop Suey restaurant, looks at his business while cleaning up Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014, in Ferguson, Mo. after it was damaged in overnight protests following a grand jury's decision not to indict a white police officer in the killing of unarmed black 18-year-old Michael Brown. (Associated Press)

Obama demands Ferguson looter prosecution, eyes race-based police hiring

While black leaders relentlessly questioned the fairness of the Ferguson grand jury proceedings, President Obama on Tuesday demanded the prosecution of the violent looters who trashed the city and set the stage for a national debate on criminal justice reform and even possible race-based hiring changes at police departments. Published November 25, 2014

President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks about Ferguson, Mo., before speaking at the Copernicus Community Center in Chicago to discuss immigration reform, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014. (Associated Press)

Obama says Ferguson looters and lawbreakers should be prosecuted

After his appeals largely were disregarded Monday night, President Obama on Tuesday again pleaded for calm and restraint in Ferguson, Mo., and across the country — but this time he also had a warning for those who have resorted to violence, saying looters and anyone else who breaks the law should be prosecuted. Published November 25, 2014

President Obama speaks to the media in the briefing room of the White House, Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, in Washington, after the Ferguson grand jury decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown. (Associated Press)

Ferguson: Obama pleads for calm after Darren Wilson cleared

President Obama on Monday night pleaded for calm in Ferguson, Mo., and across the nation in the wake of grand jury's decision not to charge police officer Darren Wilson in connection with the August shooting death of teenager Michael Brown. Published November 24, 2014

No hard feelings: President Obama shakes hands with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel after announcing Mr. Hagel's resignation Monday. Mr. Hagel is the third defense secretary to resign during Mr. Obama's six years in the White House. (associated press)

Chuck Hagel latest Obama national security team member to jump ship

President Obama accepted Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's resignation Monday, marking the latest washout of the president's tenure and raising questions about whether he'll be able to put the right team in place for his final two years in office. Published November 24, 2014

President Barack Obama, left, listens as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, right, talks about his resignation during an event in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 24, 2014. Hagel is stepping down under pressure from Obama's Cabinet, senior administration officials said Monday, following a tenure in which he has struggled to break through the White House's insular foreign policy team. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Chuck Hagel hands Obama his resignation amid reported clashes

President Obama on Monday accepted the resignation of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, creating a vacancy at the Pentagon at a time when the U.S. is battling the Islamic State in the Middle East, dealing with a shrinking budget at the Defense Department and grappling with a number of other foreign-policy challenges and international crises. Published November 24, 2014