State Dept. condemns arrests, repression in Russia

With the Democrats taking control of the Senate, both Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell took to the floor to urge unity as the country remains divided in the tumultuous aftermath of the 2020 election season.

"In his inaugural address, President Biden spoke to this moment, a moment of great great challenge, and told us two simple truths. One, that our responsibilities are numerous. And, two, it will take unity, unity of spirit, unity of purpose to fulfill them," Schumer told senators.

"But we must now turn the spirit of his words into action. The Senate must immediately set to work on the mission President Biden described -- restoring the greatness and goodness of America," he added.

McConnell, speaking as minority leader for the first time in six years, echoed Schumer's calls for unity while arguing the Democrats' mandate is slim.

"Our country deserves for both sides, both parties to find common ground for the common good everywhere that we can and disagree respectfully where we must. Last fall, the American people chose to elect a narrowly divided House of Representatives, a 50-50 Senate and a president who promised unity," McConnell said.

"The people intentionally entrusted both political parties with significant power to shape our nation's direction. May we work together to honor that trust."

Speaking for the first time as majority leader, Schumer also expressed his gratitude and recognized the historic nature of his holding the position as the first Jewish American and New Yorker to assume the post.

"(The Senate) will turn to Democratic control under the first New York-born majority leader in American history, a kid from Brooklyn, the son of an exterminator and a housewife, descendent of victims of the Holocaust ... today I feel the full weight of that responsibility," the majority leader said.

President Biden signed his first executive orders in office Wednesday afternoon.

"I thought with the state of the nation today, there’s no time to waste," Biden said, before initially signing three executive orders addressing the coronavirus pandemic, the economic crisis and the climate crisis. 

The executive actions included requiring masks on all federal property and interstate travel for 100 days and providing support for underserved communities. 

"We’re going to make sure we have some bedrock equity, equality, as it relates to how we treat people in health care and other things," Biden said. 

He also signed a commitment for the U.S. to rejoin the Paris Climate Accords.

Biden plans to sign dozens of executive orders, presidential memoranda and other official directives in the first days of his administration.

With the swearing in of Sens. John Ossoff, Raphael Warnock and Alex Padilla, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., becomes the new majority leader, replacing Sen. Mitch McConnell, who now becomes minority leader.

Schumer has served as senator from New York for over 22 years, assuming the role as the leader of Senate Democrats in 2017. Before he entered the Senate, the new majority leader represented Brooklyn and Queens in the U.S. House of Representatives.

With the Senate split 50-50, Schumer and McConnell are still working out how they will share power. The senators are negotiating a schedule that will include confirming nominations to executive branch positions, passing legislation to confront the coronavirus and voting on the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump.

In one of her first official acts as vice president, Harris administered oaths of office to her successor from California and the winners of the Georgia Senate runoff races -- giving the Democrats control of the Senate.

Sen. Alex Padilla, the former California secretary of state nominated to the Senate by Gov. Gavin Newsom, will serve out Harris' vacated term as the state's junior senator.

After winning the contentious Georgia Senate runoff elections on Jan. 5, Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock give Democrats the majority in the Senate as they seek to carry out Biden and Harris' new agenda.

Following the swearing-in of the three senators, it is expected that Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, will be designated as president pro-tempore emeritus and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., will be elected as president pro-tempore of the Senate. Later, the body is expected to appoint secretaries for the majority and minority.

With the Senate split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, Harris will likely need to cast tie-breaking votes in the body.