State Dept. condemns arrests, repression in Russia

Alex Padilla officially resigned as California's secretary of state on Monday in order to assume Vice President-elect Kamala Harris' Senate seat. 

Harris resigned her Senate seat earlier Monday. 

Padilla called it a "true honor and privilege" to serve as California's secretary of state in a statement reflecting on the agency's progress over the past six years. 

"As I prepare to enter the United States Senate, I will carry on the mission of building a more inclusive democracy and economy for all," Padilla added. 

James Schwab, the former chief deputy secretary of state in California, will serve as interim secretary of state.

-ABC News' Kendall Karson

More than 21,500 National Guardsmen are currently in Washington, the D.C. Guard confirmed to ABC News on Monday.

The security preparations come ahead of Biden’s inauguration and in the aftermath of the deadly Capitol raid conducted by Trump supporters earlier this month. 

The ramp-up in the number of guardsmen in the nation's capital means there could be four times as many American military service members in the city than there are in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.

The guardsmen are working in shifts to provide round-the-clock security both inside the Capitol and around the perimeter of the Capitol grounds. 

-ABC News’ Luis Martinez

The president-elect and his wife, Jill Biden, stopped by Philabundance, the largest hunger relief organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Monday morning.

The Bidens stopped by the nonprofit food bank to mark the National Day of Service, a holiday that encourages volunteering in your community in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.

The president-elect did not take questions about security risks surrounding Inauguration Day.

They were accompanied by their daughter, Ashley, and granddaughter, Finnegan.

The president-elect posed for selfies outside of the building with some masked supporters before the event began. 

Clad in his signature aviators and a Philabundance ball cap, Biden was seen sorting canned goods into food boxes at a conveyer belt set up outside the parking lot. His wife also helped out by adding packages of rice to the boxes.

Kamala Harris, the vice president-elect, announced her resignation from the Senate in order to take on the role of vice president via an op-ed in her local newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Harris writes that serving as California’s senator "has been an honor" and but pledged "this is not goodbye," emphasizing her new role helping Democrats win close votes in the Senate.

She touched on issues that have plagued California in recent years -- including wildfires, racial injustice and COVID-19 -- and highlighted how her office has worked "tirelessly for the people of California" during such difficult times.

"As I resign from the Senate, I am preparing to take an oath that would have me preside over it. As senator-turned-Vice-President Walter Mondale once pointed out, the vice presidency is the only office in our government that 'belongs to both the executive branch and the legislative branch,'" she wrote. "A responsibility made greater with an equal number of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate.” 

"Since our nation’s founding, only 268 tie-breaking votes have been cast by a Vice President. I intend to work tirelessly as your Vice President, including, if necessary, fulfilling this Constitutional duty,” she added. "At the same time, it is my hope that rather than come to the point of a tie, the Senate will instead find common ground and do the work of the American people." 

-ABC News’ Averi Harper