Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said Monday that in light of the "the evolving security landscape leading up to the inauguration and at the recommendation of Secret Service Director James Murray," he is going have the Secret Service designate the inauguration as a "National Special Security Event" beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 13, as opposed to Jan. 19 as previously slated.

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser called on the Department of Homeland Security in an earlier press conference for the delegation to begin on Monday.

She also asked the Department of Interior to cancel all public gathering permits in the District through Jan. 24 and urged Americans not to travel to the nation's capital for the inauguration.

Starting this week and running through at least Inauguration Day, armed protests are being planned at all 50 state capitols and at the U.S. Capitol, according to an internal FBI bulletin obtained by ABC News.

-ABC News' Aaron Katersky and Luke Barr

The number of National Guard troops deployed around next week's inauguration could rise from at least 10,000 to 15,000, the National Guard’s top general said Monday.

"Support requests from the Secret Service, Capitol Police and Park Police have been authorized to provide up to 15,000 Guard members to meet current and future support requirements," Gen. Daniel Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, told reporters on a phone briefing. "They are troops that have been requested to support security, logistics liaison and communication missions."

Hokanson said that there are currently 6,200 Guardsmen in the District, and there would be 10,000 in place by Saturday.

The National Guard has always participated in inaugurations, and there were 9,000 members on hand last year, but because of the coronavirus pandemic, the number had been reduced to 5,000 for 2021. Last week's insurrection at the Capitol changed those plans, and Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman additionally made clear that the Guardsmen will be remaining in Washington after Inauguration Day.

"We're not looking at Jan. 20 as the last day and people will pack up and go home at the conclusion of all the events," he said. "There will be some elements that will remain for a brief period to ensure safety and security in the days following the inauguration as well."

Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, said no decision has been made yet about whether to arm the Guardsmen but characterized that possibility as an "ongoing discussion."

"Obviously, we're very concerned that we want our individuals to be have the right to self defense," he said.

-ABC News' Luis Martinez

President Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the nation's highest civilian honor -- to Ohio GOP Rep. Jim Jordan in a closed-Oval Office ceremony earlier Monday, the White House said. Normally, such affairs are celebrated before news cameras.

The White House readout of the event refers to Jordan's service in the House and in defense of Trump during last year's impeachment trial. It calls him "an inspiration to freedom-loving Americans everywhere" who "has distinguished himself as one of the most consequential members of Congress of his generation.”

Jordan was among the Republican lawmakers who still objected to the Electoral College certification affirming Biden's victory even after Wednesday's insurrection.

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson

In the wake of last week's assault on Capitol Hill, Biden was asked if he is afraid of taking his oath of office on the West Front of the Capitol complex, as is tradition, and he said he's not.

"I am not afraid to take the oath outside," Biden told reporters after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware, on Monday afternoon.

"I think it's critically important that there be a real, serious focus on holding those folks who engaged in sedition and threatened people's lives, defaced public property, caused great damage -- that they be held accountable. And I think that's a view held by the vast majority of Democrats and Republicans in the Congress," Biden added.

Asked then if he's worried that impeachment could potentially delay his efforts to pass additional coronavirus relief legislation, Biden said he's already spoken with members about a way to "bifurcate" Trump's impeachment so he could continue his agenda, adding it's "obvious" the House will move to impeach.

"Can we go half day on dealing with the impeachment, and half a day getting my people nominated and confirmed in the Senate, as well as moving on the package -- so that's my hope and expectation," Biden said, adding he hasn't gotten an answer on whether that's possible.

Addressing the coronavirus pandemic, confronting the climate crisis and building public trust in science and technology will be among the Biden administration's key areas of focus, the president-elect said during a press briefing introducing four key members of his science team.

Building back the economy "to ensure prosperity is fully shared all across America" and ensuring the U.S. "leads the world in technologies and industries that the future" will also be a focus, Biden said Saturday during an address in Wilmington, Delaware.

Helping lead those initiatives will be Eric Lander, the presidential science advisor-designate, a position that for the first time will be a cabinet rank, Biden noted.

"I've always said that the Biden-Harris administration will lead with science and truth," Biden said. "We believe in both. This is how we're going to, God willing, overcome the pandemic and build our country back better than it was before. That's why for the first time in history, I'm going to be elevating the presidential science advisor to a Cabinet rank, because we think it's that important."

Frances Arnold and Maria Zuber will be at the helm of the first all-women team to lead the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Alondra Nelson will also be deputy director for science and society for the Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Dr. Francis Collins, who was not present at the event, will also continue in his role as director of the National Institutes of Health.Biden thanked him for "being willing to stay on," saying that it wasn't his original plan.

"I've known Dr. Collins for many years. I worked with him closely," Biden said, accling him "brilliant, a pioneer, a true leader."

"This is the most exciting announcement that I have gotten to make in the entire Cabinet," Biden said of his picks. "These are among the brightest, most dedicated people, not only in the country but the world."