WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Kash Patel says the bureau is cutting ties with two organizations that for decades have tracked domestic extremism and racial and religious bias, a move that follows complaints about the groups from some conservatives.

Patel said the FBI would sever its relationship with the Southern Poverty Law Center, asserting that the organization had been turned into a “partisan smear machine” and criticizing it for its use of a “hate map” that documents alleged anti-government and hate groups inside the United States. A statement last week from Patel said the FBI also would end ties with the Anti-Defamation League, a prominent Jewish advocacy organization that fights antisemitism.

The organizations over the years have provided research on hate crime and domestic extremism, law enforcement training and other services but also have been criticized by some for what they say is an unfair maligning of their viewpoints.

A spokesperson for the SPLC, a legal and advocacy group founded in 1971 as a watchdog for minorities and the underprivileged, did not directly address Patel’s comments in a statement but said the organization has for decades shared data with the public and remains “committed to exposing hate and extremism as we work to equip communities with knowledge and defend the rights and safety of marginalized people.”

The Anti-Defamation League also has faced criticism for maintaining a “Glossary of Extremism.” The organization last week announced that it was discontinuing that glossary because a number of entries were outdated and some were being “intentionally misrepresented and misused.”

Founded in 1913 to confront antisemitism, the Anti-Defamation League long has worked closely with the FBI, not only through research and training but also through awards ceremonies that recognize law enforcement officials involved in investigations into racially or religiously motivated extremism.

An ADL spokesman did not immediately comment last week on Patel’s announcement, but the group’s CEO and national director Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement that the ADL “has deep respect” for the FBI.

“In light of an unprecedented surge of antisemitism, we remain more committed than ever to our core purpose to protect the Jewish people,” Greenblatt said.