Jeff Mateer, President Donald Trump's nominee for a federal judgeship in Texas, once described transgender children as part of “Satan's plan” of “destruction.”

Mateer, the current first assistant attorney general of Texas, made the remarks in 2015 while serving as general counsel of the First Liberty Institute, a Christian conservative group opposed to LGBT rights, CNN first reported.

In May of that year, Mateer delivered a speech, titled “The Church and Homosexuality,” in which he discussed a Colorado lawsuit that sought to allow a transgender girl to use the bathroom of her choice at school.

"In Colorado, a public school has been sued because a first grader and I forget the sex, she's a girl who thinks she's a boy or a boy who thinks she's a girl, it's probably that, a boy who thinks she's a girl," Mateer said. “And the school said, 'Well, she's not using the girl's restroom.' And so she has now sued to have a right to go in. Now, I submit to you, a parent of three children who are now young adults, a first grader really knows what their sexual identity? I mean it just really shows you how Satan's plan is working and the destruction that's going on."

In that same speech, Mateer said that allowing gay couples to marry would lead to “disgusting” new forms of matrimony, such as “people marrying their pets.”

Later that same year, Mateer spoke at a conference hosted by pastor Kevin Swanson, an outspoken opponent of LGBT rights, where he defended therapies that attempt to alter the sexuality or gender identity of LGBT people.

“Biblical counselors and therapists, we've seen cases in New Jersey and in California where folks have gotten in trouble because they gave biblical counseling and, you know, the issue is always, it's same sex," Mateer said. "And if you're giving conversion therapy, that's been outlawed in at least two states and then in some local areas. So they're invading that area."

LGBT legal groups the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) expressed outrage over Mateer's comments.

“These comments made by a Trump nominee reflect hostility toward transgender people that is deeply disturbing,” NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter said in a statement. “There is no room for this sort of vitriol in our public discourse. Our government must stand for inclusion and fairness for all, and we will speak out against efforts to turn back the clock on equality.”

Jennifer Levi, director of GLAD's Transgender Rights Project, added: “It's concerning that the Trump Administration is trying to infuse its anti-transgender ideology into our judicial system. Our courts must serve as a backstop to President Trump’s divisive and exclusionary policies, not promote discrimination. Courts must treat all Americans fairly and promote equal rights.”