President Donald Trump was sworn in on Monday as the 47th president of the United States with representatives from Indiana watching both inside the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol and at watch parties around Washington, D.C.  

The Monday ceremonies were held inside for the first time in 40 years due to intense cold temperatures in Washington, D.C., and around the country. It meant only members of Congress and special guests could attend the official inauguration events inside the U.S. Capitol. 

Despite the weather and last-minute event changes, Hoosiers were there, including members of Indiana’s congressional delegation, Gov. Mike Braun and former Hoosier Vice Presidents Mike Pence and Dan Quayle.  

For Trump’s loyal supporters from Indiana, Monday’s inauguration marked a historic day. It capped off a political comeback for Trump after he lost the 2020 presidential election to now-former President Joe Biden. In the last four years, Trump faced impeachment, numerous legal cases and two assassination attempts prior to winning the 2024 presidential election.  

“It was really one of the greatest days in American history and the biggest political comeback we’ve ever seen since our country’s beginning,” Indiana U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, who ran for senate in 2024 with Trump’s endorsement, told IndyStar Monday afternoon. “President Trump delivered a great speech reasserting America’s strengths and our role in the world. It’s great to have a president again who actually believes that America is the greatest country in the history of the world and we’re going to be even greater.”  

Inside the Capitol 

Some members of Indiana’s congressional delegation posted photos and videos to social media to share what the ceremonies looked like inside the U.S. Capitol.  

U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym, who represents the 2nd Congressional District in northern Indiana, shared messages in videos on his X account, including after Trump’s inaugural address in which Trump slammed policies of the outgoing Biden administration, outlined his initial executive orders and called his inauguration a new “Golden Age” for America.  

“He has laid out a clear vision for this country to make America great again, a positive vision, forward looking,” Yakym said in a video posted to X. “Now the time has come to get to work to deliver on the promises that we all made to the American people.”  

Monday’s inauguration was not the first for Indiana U.S. Sen. Todd Young, who has represented Indiana in both the House and the Senate. Trump’s decisive victory in the 2024 election and winning rare non-consecutive terms, were also part of what made the inauguration a historic day, Young said.

Young was among Republicans who at times were critical of Trump’s 2024 campaign, but told IndyStar it was important to be at the inauguration because Trump is “our president.”  

“Every single American should pray that he succeeds in restoring security and prosperity to the American people,” Young said Monday afternoon.  

Indiana’s senior senator, who is respected by many Republicans and Democrats alike, emphasized it’s time for Republicans to get to work and said he believes he is positioned to help Trump succeed by “building bridges across the political aisle.”  

“We campaign in flourishes, but we have to govern around certain specific policies, and those policies to have any enduring value need to be developed in a bipartisan way,” Young said. “That’s how I can be helpful.”  

Indiana state Treasurer Daniel Elliott had planned to see Trump’s inauguration in person with his wife and son, but the last-minute move to hold the ceremonies inside the capitol changed those plans.  

Elliott and his family still traveled to Washington, D.C., but instead bounced back and forth between watch parties held by the Indiana Republican Party and Hoosier members of Congress to view the inauguration.  

It was not in person, but Elliott said there was excitement and energy among Republicans to see Trump take the oath of office again.  

“It’s been a momentous experience, even if I didn’t get to be right where I thought I was going to be,” Elliott said. “I wouldn’t have chose anywhere else to be, and to be able to be with my family and be able to show my son that, look we are part of the greatest country ever, and someday it’s going to be his turn to be one of those people who helps lead our country.” 

Protests in Indianapolis 

Back in Indianapolis, a small group of protestors bundled up to attend an anti-Trump rally at Monument Circle in Indianapolis on Monday afternoon, despite the bitter cold.

“There are to be some dark days ahead. So does that mean that we hide out in our homes, blanket over our heads, waiting for the next four years to pass?” asked Medley Byers, co-chair of the Central Indiana Democratic Socialists of America. Byers was one of a handful of speakers from left-leaning political organizations including IDOC Watch and the Indy Liberation Center. 

“No,” the crowd shouted back. Members held up signs addressing issues ranging from income inequality to war in the middle east. 

“Of course not,” Byers said. “We can’t afford to do that, and the people we care about can’t afford for us to do that.” 

Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X@CarloniBrittany.     

Sunday afternoon in Assembly Hall offered another familiar feeling for Indiana women’s basketball: the lights and glamour of a big game without the desired result.

For the second time this season, Indiana was close to taking down a top-five opponent on their home floor but came up short, falling 73-66 to No. 4 USC.

Indiana faced the task of defending some of the best players in the country. Although the Hoosiers did well at times, the talents of JuJu Watkins and the other Trojans proved too much to overcome.

Lexus Bargesser and Chloe Moore-McNeil were assigned to defend Watkins and did well in the first quarter. They pressed her hard, face-guarding her while forcing everything to the left side. Any time Watkins caught the ball, multiple bodies came flooding her way. Watkins scored just one point in the first quarter.

However, as the game went on and USC adjusted, the offense flowed easier for the rest of the day. Watkins and the Trojans found their groove, doing most of their damage in transition.

One of the game’s biggest plays came in the final seconds of the third quarter. Indiana was about to take a two-point lead into the final ten minutes when Watkins, with five seconds remaining, took the ball from one end of the floor to the other, put up a left-wing three, and gave USC a one-point lead right at the buzzer. This momentum swing came in one of the game’s most important moments. Watkins led all scorers at the end of the day with 22 points, including six rebounds.

A lack of shot-making proved to be the undoing of an Indiana win. The Hoosiers and Trojans finished with similar results from the field, 37.5 percent and 39 percent, respectively, but the difference came from three and the free throw line. The Hoosiers shot 27.6 percent from deep, with multiple open looks from the outside failing to connect. And from the line, USC shot 21-for-24.

“When you look at how they scored, it doesn’t seem that overwhelming,” Teri Moren said postgame. “Then you look at the free throws, and that’s the game right there.”

Indiana had opportunities to climb back into the game, but the missed shots deflated Assembly Hall any time the ball didn’t go through the basket.

“I feel like at times we were getting great looks, and then I think at times we went away from what got us those great looks,” Moore-McNeil said. “I think that was really important, especially when you’re playing a great team like USC; you can’t have that kind of slippage.”

Turnovers were also costly for the Hoosiers. Indiana committed 15, which resulted in an extra 17 points for the Trojans.

At the start of the third quarter, Chloe Moore-McNeil made a pair of turnovers that Moren stated “took the wind out of us.” They happened a minute apart with nine minutes on the clock. Indiana inbounded the ball twice, and in a matter of seconds, a broken-up reversal and a failed entry pass led to USC running the floor both times. That type of mistake piled up and held the Hoosiers back.

Despite three Hoosiers in double figures and a double-double from Sydney Parrish, Indiana’s missed opportunities offensively caused the result.

Another intense battle with a top-ranked opponent proved this Indiana squad has the talent to compete with the best. They’ve shown they can play some of their best basketball in the most intense matchups, but the issues lie in the games outside of the marquee opponents. They weren’t at their best against Harvard, Butler, or even three days ago against Illinois.

“I think we were trending in a really good direction after we got back from, you know, early on and going to Iowa, winning at Iowa was hard,” Moren said. “Then we came back; we certainly took a step back, I thought, the other night against a really good Illinois team that came in and shot it well inside the hall.

“But again, I’ll go back to it; all of them are so important. This is such a great league. And we can’t have a different mindset, right? Against UCLA and against USC, the mindset and strategy of being engaged in what we’re trying to do night in and night out. It has to be the same, no matter what the opponent is.”

Right now, Indiana is in a solid position to earn another NCAA tournament bid. But to stay there, the Hoosiers must show the same intent in every game.

“Our room for error is very small,” Moren explained. “And we got to be so good on so many levels, whether it’s coverages, whether it’s our actions that we’re running offensively and their screening actions and there are things that are happening inside the actions that we can’t forget to do, executing all of it. So we got to just keep our head down and keep grinding and realize that it’s a marathon, it’s not a sprint.”

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

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