Will I be able to update my birth certificate? Will I get to retire on time? Will I be able to vaccinate my kids?
These are just a few of the questions Indy residents might be asking themselves after the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term.
The pace of the changes has been relentless, and Mirror Indy and other local news organizations have been working to understand how those changes are affecting our community.
We’ve compiled the following list of stories, focusing on issues that can be tangibly measured — for example, we tried to find specific people or programs.
Think we’re missing something? Email us: [email protected].
Trump seeks an end to DEI, Indiana institutions comply
Some of Trump’s first executive orders took aim at diversity, equity and inclusion. The same is true for Gov. Mike Braun, who on his second day in office issued an executive order prohibiting the use of state funds on DEI initiatives and closing the state’s Equity, Inclusion and Opportunity Office.
Ivy Tech was the first Indy educational institution to react, quickly closing its DEI office in February even before the U.S. Department of Education gave orders to eliminate DEI programming or face loss of federal funding.
IU Indianapolis also closed an equity-oriented office after the Trump administration terminated its funding. Equity assistance centers were started under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to help schools desegregate.
On the K-12 level, Wayne Township’s school board voted unanimously to repeal its policy incentivizing work for minority-owned businesses. And, state lawmakers removed a requirement that all Indiana high schools offer a racial or ethnic studies class. Chalkbeat Indiana reported that state education made the request after communicating with the U.S. Department of Education.
Some universities have started to resist the federal government’s orders. Harvard University is suing the Trump administration, with 86 universities filing briefs in support of the school. Although none were Indiana schools, a handful of Hoosier schools have joined more than 500 higher education institutions to sign a letter denouncing the Trump administration’s actions.
Black faith leaders in Indy have also decried Braun’s efforts to undercut DEI, a move they said would reinforce historical inequities.
Cuts to medical research, arts, environmental and housing initiatives
The Trump administration has taken an ax to several federal agencies and programs, and Indianapolis is already seeing an impact.
As part of his promise to cut government spending, Trump attempted to slash funds from the National Institutes of Health, the world’s largest public funder for medical research. IU School of Medicine would have lost nearly $43 million under the proposed cuts, according to higher education analyst James Murphy.
Though the NIH cuts were almost immediately blocked by a federal judge — first temporarily, then permanently — the Trump administration said it will appeal this decision. More recently, the NIH issued an order requiring colleges and universities to certify that they do not have DEI programs and are not boycotting Israel in order to receive funding, which will almost certainly affect the IU School of Medicine.
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, meanwhile, terminated federal grants for the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana. That money, which went toward investigating housing discrimination, made up the bulk of the organization’s budget, the group’s leader told Mirror Indy last month.
Local environmental nonprofit Keep Indianapolis Beautiful said it lost a $400,000 federal grant for projects in underserved areas. The cut was part of a larger pursuit by the Trump administration to cut funding for any programs supporting diversity, equity and inclusion. This led KIB’s CEO to suspect that words “biodiversity” and “tree equity,” which appeared in the grant application, may have led to the grant being terminated.
The director of the city’s Office of Sustainability told city-county councilors that they were waiting to learn the fate of millions of dollars in federal grants. A department spokesperson confirmed with Mirror Indy that two Solar for All grants were moving forward, but that grants to fund electric vehicle charging stations on public property and to make city buildings more energy efficient were still under review by the federal government.
Indiana Humanities — which funds and produces literary festivals, film screenings, speaker series and other arts initiatives — said this month that all 2025 grants “are on hold until further notice,” except for the fall Historic Preservation Grant. Marisol Gouveia, director of engagement, said Indiana Humanities was awarded a grant of around $1.3 million from National Endowment for the Humanities this year but will lose access to the remaining $760,000.
Transgender Hoosiers face new barriers to health care, essential documents
Transgender adults make up less than 2% of the country’s population, but they were among the first people targeted by Trump’s executive orders on the earliest days of his second term.
The president has withdrawn federal recognition of transgender people, banned them from serving in the military and limited gender-affirming health care for children. He also ordered incarcerated transgender people to be placed in facilities that align with their sex at birth rather than their gender identity, and blocked gender-affirming care for federal prisoners.
In Indianapolis, transgender veterans told Mirror Indy that the local Veterans Affairs hospital quickly reacted to the executive orders, removing gender-neutral bathrooms and ordering staff to remove pronouns from their email signatures.
The moves made some transgender veterans and a VA employee worry that the agency would stop providing gender-affirming care.
Following in Trump’s footsteps, Gov. Mike Braun issued his own executive order, nearly identical to one of Trump’s, denying the existence of transgender people. In the wake of both orders, transgender Hoosiers have reported problems updating their official documents to reflect their gender identity.
Several of Trump’s executive orders targeting transgender people have been challenged in federal courts. The administration’s bans on transgender service members, limiting gender-affirming care for minors, transfer of incarcerated inmates to facilities that align with their sex assigned at birth have all been temporarily blocked.
In March, ACLU Indiana filed a lawsuit challenging Braun’s executive order.
Pursuit of mass deportations threatens international city
A call for mass deportations was a major part of Trump’s presidential campaign. Trump’s first 100 days have been defined by the swift removal of immigrants, some who held legal status until Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked their visas.
The speed of deportation has troubled attorneys and immigrant advocates, some who have said the federal government is violating people’s due process rights.
In April, the Trump administration started revoking international students’ visas and legal statuses en masse, including at least 14 students from IU Indianapolis, Purdue University and Notre Dame. The reasons behind the revocations are unspecified, though many of the students were identified through a criminal background check, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Nine Indiana students filed suit against the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, represented by the ACLU of Indiana.
While the government later announced it would start restoring students’ legal statuses, IU and Purdue have not said whether any of their affected students have had their statuses reinstated.
The ACLU of Indiana said April 29 the nine students it is representing have had their legal statuses restored.
Prior to that announcement, IU said it would help students who lose visas or legal status to finish their degrees. Asked by Mirror Indy whether Purdue would do the same, the university’s spokesperson did not directly answer the question.
More broadly, the federal attitude toward immigrants has spread fear and anxiety within Indy’s large immigrant and refugee communities.
The head of a local Haitian organization, for example, said the group was considering skipping its annual celebration of Haitian Flag Day in May out of concern over anti-immigrant policies. Many Haitians came to Indianapolis through a Biden-era policy that granted temporary protective status due to the economic and political turmoil in the country.
The Trump administration has effectively eliminated refugee resettlement programs, and local resettlement organization Exodus Refugee told Mirror Indy it is facing staff reductions as federal funding dries up. Some of their clients are left in limbo, including one man who was meant to be brought to Indy but didn’t make it before Trump stopped resettlement. His wife is already here; he will be sent back to his home country and possibly imprisoned.
Health care programs cut as GOP seeks to ‘Make Indiana Healthy Again’
Trump has already reshaped much of the U.S. health care system — and those changes have had an immense impact on Indianapolis.
The federal government terminated a $454,000 grant for the Marion County Public Health Department’s vaccination program. Though the funds were part of a COVID-era boost to vaccine funding, one expert said the money is really to prepare for the next pandemic.
Trump also froze Title X funds to Planned Parenthood clinics across the country, including locations in Lafayette and Hammond. Indianapolis’ three clinics were not affected. The Title X program has funded reproductive health and family planning services for low-income Americans since 1970.
Indiana is also poised to be the first state to ban low-income residents from using food assistance to buy candy and soda. Gov. Mike Braun announced this initiative April 15, with high-profile guests of the Trump administration: Dr. Mehmet Oz and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
During his public appearance in Indiana, Kennedy claimed that the measles vaccine is “leaky” and less effective over time, which medical experts say is untrue. His comments came amid a nationwide measles outbreak — as of April 28, there were 884 measles cases nationwide. Eight of those cases are in Indiana, per Indiana Department of Health data.
Uncertainty reigns during Trump’s first 100 days
As you’ve read here, the lasting impact of some of these policies remains to be seen, whether it’s because the issue is tied up in court or the administration has walked back its decisions.
What, for example, will be the fate of two federal buildings in Indianapolis that were temporarily listed for sale or closure before the list was deleted from the government’s website? The Major General Emmett J. Bean Federal Center in Lawrence brings thousands of federal employees from across Indiana to Lawrence, the city’s mayor told Mirror Indy. The loss of that workforce could hinder the city’s economic growth, she said.
The future of other federally tied institutions seems similarly unclear, even in cases where the administration has reversed its decision. Federal agencies announced cuts to funding for a regional climate center out of Purdue before reversing the decision just five days later. What will be the fate of the Indiana Dunes National Park? The United States Postal Service in Indiana?
And where will the Trump administration’s crusade to slash government spending leave Indiana? The state is the third most reliant on federal funds, behind Louisiana and Mississippi, according to research by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
We’ve also yet to see some of the lasting impacts of Trump’s policies on the economy. His tariff policies alone have led to swings in the stock market, and Americans’ confidence in the economy has hit its lowest level since Trump’s first term. Indiana is the fourth largest exporter to China, according to Axios Indianapolis, and so could be hit disproportionately hard by a trade war.
“I think it’s a pivot in U.S. policy and it feels like it’ll be hard to come back from here,” Eli Lilly’s CEO told the BBC.
Indiana’s legislature has already taken a less-than-rosy economic outlook into account. The state revised its revenue forecast this month based, in part, on the country’s economic performance during the first part of the year as well as “expectations of federal policy actions.”
The result was $2 billion less in estimated revenue for the next two years, leading lawmakers to make cuts to the state spending on services for Indiana residents, such as people who rely on local public health departments, while raising taxes on Hoosiers who buy tobacco products.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Emily Hopkins is a Mirror Indy reporter focused on data and accountability. You can reach them on phone or Signal at 317-790-5268 or by email at [email protected]. Follow them on most social media @indyemapolis or on Bluesky @emilyhopkins.bsky.social.
Claire Rafford covers higher education for Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus. Contact Claire by email [email protected], on most social media @clairerafford or on Signal 317-759-0429.
Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at [email protected] or follow her on X @carleylanich.
Mirror Indy reporter Mesgana Waiss covers arts and culture. Contact her at 317-667-2643 or [email protected].
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