Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) has accused the U.S. military of launching “political attacks” against Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson and other civilians who criticize their policy decisions and has demanded a meeting with the head of the United States Marine Corps.

“Under Biden, the military is launching political attacks to intimidate Tucker Carlson & other civilians who criticize their policy decisions,” Cruz tweeted on Sunday. “Officials in uniform are being used for the campaign. I’ve demanded a meeting with the Commandant of the USMC to put a stop to it.”

In the tweet, Cruz attached a letter he sent to U.S. secretary of defense Lloyd Austin in which he wrote that the Pentagon mobilized “systematic, public attacks against television host Tucker Carlson that in substance, tone and and political resonance are inexplicably inappropriate.”

“Instead of allowing the debate to take its course in public among American citizens and their elected leaders, military officials over the last week have repeatedly launched attacks on Carlson,” Cruz wrote.

“This spectacle risks politicizing the military after several centuries of efforts to keep military officials out of domestic affairs,” he continued. “This kind of behavior, while perhaps typical in a military-controlled Third World country, is completely unacceptable in the United States of America.”

The letter has received backlash from lawmakers including Congresswomen Ilhan Omar, D-MN, who criticized it in a tweet on Sunday.

“Republicans going after the military because of misogyny and a dangerously radical Fox News pundit is just wild and revealing. Like I said before, these hypocrites do ultimately tell on themselves,” Omar wrote.

Carlson made comments last week about the Pentagon’s attempt to diversify the military that prompted backlash among many military members.

“Pregnant women are going to fight our wars. It’s a mockery of the U.S. military,” Carlson said last week on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.

“While China’s military becomes more masculine as it has assembled the world’s largest navy, our military needs to become, as Joe Biden says, more feminine, whatever feminine means anymore since men and women no longer exist.”

Carlson was responding to President Joe Biden’s remarks on International Women’s Day when he said women should have better fitting body armor and maternity suits to make it easier for them to serve in uniform.

On “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Thursday, Carlson said the Pentagon had launched a “large and coordinated public relations offensive” against his show.

A U.S. Marine Force twitter account issued an apology to Carlson Saturday for a comment made on Twitter defending women in the military.

The II Marine Expeditionary Force’s official account told Carlson, “Come back when you’ve served and been pregnant.” The account later apologized, explaining “we’ve strayed away from our brand and realize that.”

“We are human and we messed up. We intended to speak up for female Marines and it was an effort to support them. They are a crucial part to our corps and we need them to know that. We will adjust fire and ensure the utmost professionalism in our tweets.”

Follow Annaliese Levy on Twitter @AnnalieseLevy