(The New York Times)
On a sunny October day in 2017, Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, held a meeting in the West Wing to promote an initiative that would pair shelter dogs needing homes with veterans wanting to act on the increasingly widespread notion that well-trained dogs can improve the lives of people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental-health conditions.
Sitting at a long wooden table in the Roosevelt Room, Trump lobbied the leaders of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Humane Society of the United States. She also showed her support for the Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) Act, a piece of bipartisan legislation first introduced in 2016 that would establish a grant program pairing veterans with psychiatric service dogs, which are rigorously trained to help their owners cope with stress, anxiety or fear.
The meeting was an impressive show of political force that featured top White House officials, lawmakers, two cabinet secretaries and at least one service dog. Less than two months later, the V.A. formed a partnership with the Humane Society. But by May 2019, almost a year and a half later, their joint program had provided dogs to only 19 veterans. And despite Trump’s efforts — by that time she had held a half dozen meetings with lawmakers and other government officials to build support for legislation — the PAWS Act never went to a vote. It faced stiff resistance from V.A. officials who said the bill could “result in unintended and negative consequences” for veterans entrusting their well-being to “this unsubstantiated treatment regime.” Read more