Sen. Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzCrenshaw looms large as Democrats look to flip Texas House seat SCOTUS confirmation in the last month of a close election? Ugly The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - Trump previews SCOTUS nominee as 'totally brilliant' MORE (R-Texas) on Wednesday knocked fast-food restaurant Chick-fil-A over a past donation the chain made to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

“If true, @ChickfilA has badly lost its way,” Cruz tweeted, linking to a Breitbart article about the donation from 2017.

“Millions of Christians have been proud of ChickFilA’s courageous stands for religious liberty. To fund those who hate your customers is just sad.”

If true, @ChickfilA has badly lost its way. Millions of Christians have been proud of ChickFilA’s courageous stands for religious liberty. To fund those who hate your customers is just sad. https://t.co/fF8Po4eu8l — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 28, 2019

The SPLC is a favorite target of conservatives — the group is most known for tracking hate groups and those that hold anti-LGBTQ beliefs, but has faced flak on the right from critics who accuse it of trying to limit free speech and religious liberty.

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Chick-fil-A, meanwhile, has been hit by an avalanche of conservative criticism in recent days after it announced this month that its charitable foundation will no longer donate to two Christian groups that have long opposed same-sex marriage.

“The sad message of @ChickfilA is quite clear- they surrendered to anti- Christian hate groups,” said former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), a prominent evangelical.

The sad message of @ChickfilA is quite clear- they surrendered to anti- Christian hate groups. Tragic. Chick-fil-A To Stop Donating To Christian Charities Branded ‘Anti-LGBT’ https://t.co/o93PfaaS04 — Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) November 18, 2019

“Not only has Chick-fil-A abandoned donations to Christian groups including the Salvation Army, it has donated to one of the most extreme anti-Christian groups in America. Anyone who opposes SPLC is slandered and slapped with their 'extremist' or 'hate group’ label,” the conservative Family Research Council added this week.