A Missouri Congresswoman has said transgender people serving in the military is as big a threat to national security as "North Korea, and Putin and ISIS."

Rep. Vicky Hartzler made the comments in a radio interview last week with the Family Research Council's Tony Perkins.

When asked about "social experimentation" in the United States Armed Forces, Hartzler mused: "At a time when we should be focusing on the threats from North Korea, and Putin, and ISIS, we’re having to deal with a threat here at home—a domestic threat—of allowing transgenders in our service, which is a real problem because it impacts their readiness, and it’s a huge cost for our military."

She went on to say that the "cost" of providing adequate medical care for trans service people would be $1.35 billion, which is much greater than the $5.6 million expenditure estimated by researchers. In comparison, the military's annual healthcare budget is currently $48.8 billion.

Hartzler first made a name for herself in 2004 as one of the chief architects of a constitutional amendment in Missouri to ban gay marriage. The amendment was the first of its kind and passed by a huge margin, suggesting a dim future for same-sex marriage nationwide.

The politician rode the success of this campaign all the way to D.C. when she was elected to the House of Representatives in 2011. While her gay marriage ban would later be dismantled by the Supreme Court's ruling on marriage equality in 2015, this hasn't stopped her from becoming one of the most anti-LGBT members of Congress, opposing everything from hate crime laws to the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."