When he battled for his seat in the tight 2018 race against Beto O’Rourke, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, infused his campaign with $5,000 from his own bank account and $255,000 from a loan he secured with personal assets.

But his campaign could only repay $250,000 of the loan because a federal law restricts how much and when campaigns are allowed to repay candidates who self-fund their campaigns. That restriction is an unconstitutional violation of free speech by political candidates, campaigns and potential donors who want to pitch in to repay self-funding candidates, alleges Cruz and his campaign in a new lawsuit filed Monday, asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to overturn part of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act.