The Cabinet of President Joe Biden, largely recycled from past Democrat administrations, is filled with those who have long been on record as strongly in favor of gun control. 

Besides Vice President Kamala Harris, who has a track record of being anti-gun going back to her days as San Francisco’s DA, over a dozen planned cabinet members and senior advisors have similar feelings towards gun rights. 

The roll call: 

Xavier Becerra – A former California Attorney General, Becerra helped support increasingly stronger gun bans and restrictions on the state's 13 million legal firearms owners. While a senator in Congress, he also voted in favor of bills to implement expanded background checks and sponsored the National Crime Gun Identification Act of 2008 – a failed federal firearms microstamping mandate. While the state's "top cop," he repeatedly increased oversight on guns, going so far as suing the ATF to force federal regulators to lower the boom on so-called "80-percent" lowers and kits. Under Biden, Becerra is set to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Pete Buttigieg – The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and a longtime member of Michael Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns group, Buttigieg had a sweeping plan to stomp out the American gun industry during his failed Presidential run in 2019. This was to include a nationwide ban on "assault weapons and high-capacity magazines" and the implementation of gun licensing for models not outlawed. Buttigieg was confirmed as the Biden Administration’s Transportation Secretary. 

Marcia Fudge – A longtime Congresswoman representing the Cleveland and Akron urban centers of Ohio on Capitol Hill, Fudge signed on to most of the big gun control bills in the House in the past decade. She was a repeated and vocal champion of prohibiting "civilian purchase of high-capacity ammunition clips, drums or magazines; and banning assault weapons." Biden nominated Fudge as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Senate Housing Committee advanced her nomination to a floor vote last week. 

Merrick Garland – Nominated in 2016 by Obama to fill the late Justice Antonin Scalia's open seat on the Supreme Court, federal Judge Merrick Garland was described at the time by pro-groups as the “most anti-gun nominee in recent history.” Gun law scholar, attorney David Kopel, told Guns.com then that “A vote for Merrick Garland is a vote to repeal the Second Amendment." Garland is Biden's Attorney General-Designate. 

Jennifer Granholm – A former Michigan attorney general and governor, Granholm signed pro-gun bills while in office, but then later pivoted to suggest that ballot initiatives could put the gun question to voters. Such measures, backed by millions from national gun control groups, have been successful in several blue states in recent years. Granholm has been nominated to be Biden's Secretary of Energy.

Deb Haaland – Nominated to be Biden's Interior Secretary, when it comes to public lands issues, Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., has sponsored bills to fight "environmental injustice" as well as a measure pushing that Congress, rather than the President, has the authority to modify a national monument designation. The Trump administration repeatedly expanded hunting and fishing opportunities to sportsmen on public lands in the past three years. On outright gun prohibition legislation, Haaland was a co-sponsor of the proposed renewal of an expanded federal ban on "assault weapons" that includes regulating stabilizing braces.

John Kerry – A former Secretary of State under Obama, Kerry has been named the "United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate." While running for President in 2004, he promised to be tough on guns if elected. While in the Senate, he voted for the Brady Bill as well as the Federal Assault Weapon Ban and went on record saying that he wanted to ban most centerfire rifle ammunition on the pretext that it could penetrate soft body armor. 

Denis McDonough – Serving twice as Obama's White House Chief of Staff – during which the President frequently used executive actions to place gun control restrictions into effect, Denis McDonough came out in support of Biden last year while on the campaign trail. An op-ed piece endorsing then-candidate Biden, McDonough noted, "Biden led efforts to take on the gun lobby and improve gun background checks and narrow the gun-show loophole using existing executive authority," as one of his reasons for his support. McDonough has been nominated to be Biden's VA Secretary. If confirmed, he will be only the second non-veteran to serve in the position, a move that surprised Veterans' groups.

Vivek Murthy – Served as President Obama's Surgeon General for less than two years after a contentious and drawn-out confirmation in a Democrat-controlled Senate was relieved of his duties by President Trump soon after he took office. Murthy drew fire from Republicans and Second Amendment groups over his controversial statements on addressing gun violence as a public health issue. Before assuming the post of Surgeon General, Murthy was the president of “Doctors for America.” Murthy founded the group in 2008 under the name of “Doctors for Obama.” Gun control as a public health issue was a large part of that organization’s agenda. Murthy, pending confirmation by the Senate, is set to become Biden's Surgeon General. 

Gina Raimondo – One of the most aggressive governors in recent history on the subject of gun control, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo signed bans on "ghost guns" and bump stocks while issuing executive orders outlawing legal campus carry and instructing police to seize guns in possible "red flag" situations. Raimondo is set to become Biden's Secretary of Commerce. 

Susan Rice – Obama's former controversial UN ambassador during the 2012 Benghazi attack and later his National Security Advisor, Susan Rice has also been a big proponent of gun control. In a 30-minute interview with Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts last year – at a time when Rice's name was being circulated as a possible Biden Vice President pick – she spoke highly of universal background checks, bans on "assault weapons," and other measures. Rice is serving as the Director of the Domestic Policy Council for the Biden administration. 

Marty Walsh – Boston's mayor since 2014, Marty Walsh has been a stalwart member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns and has repeatedly called for stronger laws on legal firearms. While Massachusetts has some of the toughest gun laws in the country, Walsh has joined with Sen. Ed Markey, who represents the state, to back a federal proposal encouraging other states to adopt similar policies with the promise of $20 million in taxpayer funds used as incentives. Walsh has been nominated to become Biden's Labor Secretary. 

The incoming group is being hailed by Bloomberg-backed national gun control groups, who are excited about the prospect of coming new gun regs. 

“President Biden has put together the strongest gun sense team in history, starting with Vice President Harris, and we look forward to them swiftly taking action to save lives,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown. "Gun safety is unifying, it is life-or-death, and — with the NRA sidelined by bankruptcy — the time for the Biden administration to act on this issue is now."

Banner photo: Vice President Joe Biden talks with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., after President Barack Obama signed the New START Treaty in the Oval Office, Feb. 2, 2011, via the National Archives.

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