Skip to content
TRENDING:
Donald Trump
Advertisement

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

Steubenville’s decline has been extreme. Unemployment in the once-prosperous Ohio steel mill town topped 15 percent two years ago. The jobless rate as of last month still stood at 10.6 percent. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

Rust Belt finding no shining knight in White House joust

Scott Dressel has risked his life savings to help rescue this struggling old steel town that is still plagued by double-digit unemployment and banking on a natural gas boom that has yet to materialize. Published October 29, 2012

Democratic incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio talks with supporters after a U.S. Senate debate with his opponent, Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, at WCET-TV Studios in Cincinnati on Thursday. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

Rivals let barbs fly during Ohio Senate debate

With the race tightening less than two weeks before Election Day, the candidates for U.S. Senate in the swing state of Ohio squared off Thursday night in their final debate. Published October 25, 2012

** FILE ** President Obama speaks to supporters during an Oct. 24, 2012, campaign event at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport, Iowa. The president began a two-day campaign blitz through eight states with stops in key battleground states Iowa, Colorado, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia. (Associated Press)

Obama auto-bailout strategy running on fumes in Ohio

The Obama campaign is counting on the auto-industry bailout to carry the president to a victory in Ohio, but it ultimately may hold little sway with voters across the state who are still out of work and struggling to stay solvent. Published October 25, 2012

Linda Lee (right), the owner of the Lions Den Coffee Bar in Fisherville, Pa., has arranged straw men of President Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, having coffee together on the porch outside the front entrance on Monday as Nancy Jacobson looks on. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

Obama’s ‘war on coal’ puts Pennsylvania in play

If Republican Mitt Romney scores an upset and snatches Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes away from President Obama, it will largely be because of voters like Norma Fae Morris. Published October 23, 2012

President Obama gets a look at a wind turbine blade with TPI Composites workers Larry Crady and Dajeane Spencer during a May 2012 tour of the plant in Newton, Iowa. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Obama, Romney at odds on energy

The most confrontational moments of Tuesday night's presidential debate revolved around energy, with Mitt Romney again blasting President Obama for failing to take full advantage of American oil, natural gas and coal. Published October 17, 2012

** FILE ** In this June 25, 2012 photo, a crew works on a gas drilling rig at a well site for shale based natural gas in Zelienople, Pa. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Suit says California hasn’t looked at fracking’s risks

A coalition of environmental advocacy groups on Tuesday filed a lawsuit charging that the California's Department of Conservation "has failed to consider or evaluate the risks of fracking" and therefore is in violation of state law, the latest state-level clash over the booming new technique for obtaining oil and natural gas. Published October 16, 2012

President Obama, making phone calls Sunday to campaign volunteers with Suzanne Stern in Williamsburg, Va., is hearing accusations from the GOP that his administration is putting politics ahead of the safety of American diplomats. (Associated Press)

GOP: Libya shows Obama is ‘incompetent’

As criticism of the Obama administration's handling of the deadly Sept. 11 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, continues to grow, top Republicans on Sunday ripped the White House and accused the president's team of putting politics ahead of the safety of American diplomats. Published October 14, 2012

Calls were made to Vice President Joseph R. Biden’s office about an energy deal seeking political support. (Associated Press)

Biden, Dems enlisted by energy company to win billion-dollar loan deal, emails show

The White House contends that all energy loan guarantees are awarded solely on the merits of the project, with no political influence from President Obama, Vice President Joseph R. Biden or other administration officials. But a series of emails from solar power giant BrightSource Energy Inc. show how the company applied political pressure and used behind-the-scenes cajoling to win a $1.6 billion loan guarantee in April 2011. Published October 10, 2012

associated press Justice Anthony M. Kennedy could be a key vote in an affirmative action case. The Supreme Court begins hearing arguments Wednesday.

High court to again consider racial quotas

For the first time in nearly a decade, the issue of race as a factor in college admissions comes before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, thrusting affirmative action back into the national spotlight. Published October 9, 2012

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney (left) and President Obama participate in the first presidential debate at the University of Denver in Denver on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Romney debate attack on green energy, says Obama picks ‘losers’

President Obama's unwavering support for taxpayer-funded "green" energy projects came under fire at Wednesday night's presidential debate, with Republican Mitt Romney on the attack, accusing the incumbent of picking "losers" in the energy sector while turning his back on American fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal. Published October 4, 2012

U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice (Associated Press)

Outrage growing on U.S. response to consulate attack

Outrage continued to grow Sunday over the Obama administration's initial reaction to the deadly Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya, which is being blasted as disingenuous at best and an outright lie at worst. Published September 30, 2012

Rep. Paul Ryan, the Republican vice presidential candidate, speaks at the annual banquet of the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Paul Ryan: ‘We’ve had some missteps’ in the campaign

With polls headed in the wrong direction and a torrent of conservative criticism continuing to mount, Republican vice presidential hopeful Paul Ryan on Sunday admitted that the GOP ticket has made mistakes over the past few weeks, but he remains confident that presidential nominee Mitt Romney and he will triumph in November. Published September 30, 2012

**FILE** Deb Fischer (left), the Republican candidate for the Nebraska Senate seat, shakes hands with her Democratic counterpart Bob Kerrey following their first debate at the Nebraska state fair in Grand Island, Neb., on Aug. 25, 2012. The two are vying for the Senate seat of Democrat Ben Nelson, who is not seeking re-election. (Associated Press)

Neb. Senate hopeful Kerrey hammers opponent on spending, deficits

For a candidate who once promoted universal health care and spent a decade leading one of the nation's most liberal universities, Democrat Bob Kerrey has embarked on a dramatic political makeover — one that now has him sounding more like a hardened fiscal conservative. Published September 28, 2012