WATCH: Sen Cruz calls Biden's ATF nominee 'far out of the mainstream' on gun confiscation

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) spoke before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday regarding the controversial appointment of David Chipman as the new director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). Chipman's appointment is part of the Biden administration's plan to control guns, which he announced in April.

"I think Mr. Chipman is a nominee who is far out of the mainstream," Cruz said. "If his position is what he told this committee, that he thinks we should go much further than Sen. [Diane] Feinstein's (D-CA) legislation, which commended only 40 votes in a Democratic-majority Senate, that does not reflect where the American people are."

"And this nomination is a chance for Senate Democrats to decide. I assume, the membership of this committee, that every Democrat in this committee is going to vote for Mr. Chipman," Cruz continued.

"This tends to be a committee on both sides of the aisle, that attracts some of the members who are more comfortable with taking ... clear positions," Cruz added.

"But there are at least some Democrats in the conference who, when they go home to their home states, they tell their constituents they support the Second Amendment. In some ways, I'm grateful to President Biden for making this nomination, because it's a clarifying moment."  

"Every one of those Democrats who goes home and tells their constituents: 'No, no, I believe in the Second Amendment, no, no, I don't believe in confiscation, no, no, I won't ban guns, no, no, we shouldn't do that...'"

"Well, we got a nominee who supports confiscation, who wants to ban guns, wants a registry, and who was appointed to carry out Joe Biden's promise 'Bingo! We're coming after your guns.'"

"So, now it's a chance for each of the 50 Democrats to decide where you stand."

Biden announced in April his believe that gun violence is a "public health crisis," and outlined six points to combat it. They included the removal of "ghost gun," or DIY gun kits that can be purchased online and do not have serial numbers. The administration called for the banning of some stabilizing braces and high capacity ammunition magazines.

Biden instructed Merrick Garland's Department of Justice to draft guidance legislation that states could use to enact "red flag" laws, which would enable individuals to report to police other individuals who they feel should not have guns.

Additionally, he called for an increase in "community based policing," and the nomination of David Chipman to lead the AFT. Earlier this week, Biden called for a major initiative to "crack down" on guns as the nation is seeing an increasing crime wave.

Biden said that as we head into summer, we should expect crime to increase, which is why he wants to prohibit guns in the US even more. He tried to reassure Americans that "We're not changing the constitution, we're enforcing it."

Biden said on Tuesday:

"The second amendment from the day it was passed limited the type of people who could own a gun and the type of weapon you could own. You couldn't buy cannon, those who say the blood of patriots y'know and all the stuff about how we're going to have to move against the government. Well the tree of liberty is not water of the blood of patriots. What's happened is, that there never been, if you wanted you think you need to have weapons to take on the government, you need F-15s and maybe some nuclear weapons. The point is that there's always been the ability to limit rationally limit the type of weapon that can be owned and who can own it."