State Dept. condemns arrests, repression in Russia

While Wednesday's Inauguration Day was steeped in tradition, it held many firsts too.

During the actual ceremony, Harris was sworn in as both the first female and person of color vice president, Amanda Gorman was the youngest inaugural poet in history, and Andrea Hall recited the Pledge of Allegiance in sign language.

But even as the official ceremony ended, the day of firsts didn't. Hours after the inaugural ceremony, Harris administered the oath of office to Rev. Raphael Warnock, the first Black senator from Georgia, and Jon Ossoff, the first Jewish senator from the South since the 1880s. Also, the White House website revised its contact form by adding gender-inclusive pronoun and prefix options including "they/them" and the gender-neutral prefix of "Mx."

-ABC News' Kiara Brantley-Jones and Robert Zepeda

Inauguration Day was historic, with Kamala Harris becoming the first woman and person of color to become vice president. But if all of Biden's cabinet nominations are confirmed, Harris wouldn't be the only one making history.

Twelve of Biden's nominations for Cabinet and Cabinet-level positions are women, including eight women of color. If they're all confirmed, it would shatter former President Bill Clinton's record of nine women serving concurrently, which happened during his second term.

Janet Yellen, who was approved unanimously in the Senate Finance Committee on Friday, is nominated to be the first female secretary of the U.S. Treasury. Her confirmation vote is expected to take place early next week.

-ABC News' Deena Zaru

The U.S. Department of State "strongly" condemned the mass arrests in Russia of protesters in a statement Saturday.

The department called for the release of the protesters and Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, who was jailed last week after he returned to the country for the first time since recovering from poisoning with a nerve agent.

"The United States strongly condemns the use of harsh tactics against protesters and journalists this weekend in cities throughout Russia," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in the statement. "The United States will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our allies and partners in defense of human rights -- whether in Russia or wherever they come under threat."

Tens of thousands of people joined protests across dozens of cities in Russia Saturday. By early evening, police had detained over 1,600 people, according to OVD-Info, a group that monitors arrests.

In its statement, the State Department criticized the growing state of repression in Russia, from harassing protesters to threatening social media platforms, and defended Russians’ rights to protest and to free and fair elections.

It also called on Russia to explain the use of a chemical weapon on its soil and to cooperate with an international investigation.

-ABC News' Connor Finnegan

Earlier this week, the Biden administration announced a 100-day pause on deportations of most people living in the country illegally along with a new priority system for those who will still be subject to removal.

The memo makes clear that Homeland Security will not be issuing a full stop on arrests and removals, but rather focusing on those who pose a national security or public safety risk, including anyone convicted of an "aggravated felony."

"Nothing in this memorandum prohibits the apprehension or detention of individuals unlawfully in the United States who are not identified as priorities," the DHS memo reads. The announcements came as Biden also put forward his legislative immigration proposal, which provides a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants.

-ABC News' Quinn Owen