Ben Wolfgang
Articles by Ben Wolfgang
Coal miners swarm Congress as health care, pensions deadline looms
With lives literally hanging in the balance, Congress is headed toward another last-minute showdown over health care and pensions for retired coal miners -- some of whom have vowed to remain on Capitol Hill for 30 days to pressure lawmakers to act. Published April 2, 2017
EPA issues press release using a Democrat’s quote blasting Trump’s climate actions
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday sent out a press release touting praise for President Trump's rollback of Obama-era climate-change regulations this week -- but the agency accidentally led the email with a blistering quote from a Democratic critic. Published March 30, 2017
Green groups sue Trump over Keystone pipeline
Environmental activists on Thursday sued the Trump administration in an effort to stop the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which the administration formally approved last week. Published March 30, 2017
Trump claims pipelines will be built with U.S. steel — even though Keystone XL won’t
President Trump on Tuesday again claimed that all pipelines will now be built with U.S. steel -- even though the Keystone XL project, perhaps the highest profile pipeline in American history, will rely heavily on foreign materials. Published March 28, 2017
White House declares ‘the war on coal is over’ as Trump begins unraveling Obama’s climate agenda
A central piece of President Trump's executive order Tuesday nixes the federal government's use of the obscure "social cost of carbon" calculation, ending an Obama-era experiment that put an official price tag on greenhouse gas emissions. Published March 28, 2017
Paris climate treaty faces U.S. exit after Donald Trump action on Clean Power Plan
President Trump's executive action Tuesday to begin unraveling the Clean Power Plan may also signal America's de facto exit from the landmark Paris climate treaty -- former President Barack Obama's signature environmental achievement Published March 27, 2017
Keystone pipeline faces bitter fight from environmental activists
Environmental activists vowed over the weekend to fight the Keystone XL oil pipeline to the bitter end, insisting the Trump administration's approval of the long-delayed project will not be the final word. Published March 26, 2017
Executive action to kill Clean Power Plan coming this week: EPA chief
President Trump this week will sign an executive order to begin unraveling the Clean Power Plan, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said Sunday. Published March 26, 2017
Keystone XL pipeline: Environmentalists, tribes promise Dakota Access-style camps, protests
The protests and encampments seen in the months-long effort to stop the Dakota Access pipeline will be employed in a new bitter battle to halt Keystone XL, environmentalists and tribal leaders said Friday morning, just hours after President Trump formally green-lighted the pipeline. Published March 24, 2017
Keystone XL oil pipeline approved by the State Department
President Trump signed permits Friday for construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline that had been blocked by the Obama administration, saying the reversal is part of his efforts "to do things right" for American jobs and energy production. Published March 24, 2017
Trump administration to approve Keystone pipeline Monday: Report
The Trump administration on Monday will formally approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline, according to media reports, finally ending a years-long series of starts, stops and delays, and kicking off the kind of massive infrastructure project the president promised during his campaign. Published March 23, 2017
Scott Pruitt’s EPA faces harshest budget cuts in history
President Trump's proposed cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency would take it back to the staffing levels it had under President Reagan and to a budget it outgrew in 1990, marking what would be the most dramatic rollback in the agency's 47-year history. Published March 21, 2017
Yucca Mountain project’s revival brings Nevada lawmakers together — to oppose it
Opponents of the newly revived federal plan to store nuclear waste at Nevada's Yucca Mountain are preparing for battle with the Trump administration as the political winds seem to be shifting in favor of the project. Published March 20, 2017
Rand Paul, Kentucky senator, stokes division between Donald Trump, Paul Ryan on health care bill
A top Republican critic of the GOP's health care bill tried to stoke divisions between President Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan over the legislation. Published March 12, 2017
John Kasich, Ohio governor: ‘The political parties are disintegrating before our very eyes’
John Kasich said Sunday that both political parties are falling apart at the seams as Republicans and Democrats focus more on scoring political points than on helping Americans in need. Published March 12, 2017
Democrats question whether politics drove Donald Trump to remove U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara
The top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee questioned Sunday whether politics led to the firing of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. Published March 12, 2017
Adam Schiff: Donald Trump’s wiretap claim may have ruined his credibility
President Trump may have done irreparable harm to his credibility by accusing former President Barack Obama of wiretapping his building without presenting evidence, California Rep. Adam Schiff said Sunday. Published March 12, 2017
Donald Trump will travel country to sell health care bill, White House says
Trump administration officials guaranteed Sunday that the president will hit the road soon to rally support for the health care bill put forth by House Republicans. Published March 12, 2017
White House: Don’t trust CBO score on Republican health care bill
White House officials on Sunday preemptively downplayed the Congressional Budget Office analysis of Republicans' Obamacare replacement bill. Published March 12, 2017
John McCain, Arizona senator, predicts ‘there’s a lot more shoes to drop’ on Trump-Russia connection
One of the Senate's leading Republicans predicted Sunday that there are "a lot more shoes to drop" in the probe of President Trump's connections to Russia and said Congress must call top Trump associates to Capitol Hill to testify. Published March 12, 2017