Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican, has accused President Barack Obama of leading the “most hostile to traditional marriage administration this country has ever seen.”

Cruz and Senator Mike Lee, R-Utah, last week introduced the State Marriage Defense Act, which seeks to protect states from any federal efforts to recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples.

The legislation appears to be a response to Attorney General Eric Holder's Saturday announcement that the Justice Department will treat the marriages of gay couples – regardless of where they live – as being equal to those of their straight counterparts.

(Related: Eric Holder: Justice to treat marriages of gay couples equally.)

“One of the really sad trends we've seen in recent years has been a concerted attack on traditional marriage and that attack has manifested in the courts of law as advocacy groups have used litigation to tear down the marriage laws of states across this country,” Cruz said during an appearance on WallBuilders Live. “But it's also manifested from the federal government, with the Obama administration – this administration is the most hostile to traditional marriage administration this country has ever seen.”

In a separate radio appearance, Cruz told Janet Mefferd that the actions of marriage equality advocates are “heartbreaking” and urged listeners to pray against same-sex marriage.

“I think the most important thing your listeners can do is simply pray, because we need a great deal of prayer because marriage is really being undermined by a concerted effort and it's causing significant harm,” Cruz said.