State Dept. condemns arrests, repression in Russia

The Senate confirmed Avril Haines as director of national intelligence by a vote of 84 to 10.

She is the first member of Biden's Cabinet to secure confirmation.

Haines is a former deputy director of the CIA and served as principal deputy national security adviser under former President Barack Obama. She was the first woman to hold both of those roles.

With the Senate's vote, Haines would become the first woman to lead the country's intelligence community.

Haines replaces former President Donald Trump's director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe, who served in the post for under a year.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin, Shannon Crawford, Libby Cathey and Meredith Deliso

Biden swore in hundreds of White House staff and agency appointees during a virtual ceremony Wednesday evening, saying he expects "honesty and decency" from the public servants.

"We have to restore the soul of this country," Biden told the appointees. "And I'm counting on all of you to be part of that, and it's not hyperbole." 

He reiterated that point when he added, "But I'm not joking when I say this: if you’re ever working with me and I hear you treat another colleague with disrespect, talk down to someone, I promise you I will fire you on the spot -- on the spot. No ifs, ands, or buts -- everybody, everybody is entitled to be treated with decency and dignity."

He administered the oath in the State Dining Room of the White House, as appointees appeared remotely on several large screens.

"As my mom would say, God love y'all," Biden said after the swearing-in. "We got a lot of work to do. Thank you for being willing to join."

Appearing before reporters in the Oval Office for the first time since he was sworn in, Biden described the letter left for him by Donald Trump as "very generous," but said he would not say more until he has spoken with the former president.

"The president wrote a very generous letter," Biden said in response to a question from ABC News. "Because it was private, I will not talk about it until I talk to him, but it was generous."

-ABC News' Molly Nagle and Ben Gittleson

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.