Those close to Lee attribute his silence to the fact the Utah senator has relationships with Sens. Marco Rubio and Rand Paul and is legitimately torn between his friends.

“He just flat out hasn’t made up his mind yet. It’s as simple as that. He’s looking for principled leadership, people to speak up on ideas… We work with both a lot, we agree on a lot, but we’ve had disagreements with both,” Conn Carroll, a spokesman for Lee, told The Daily Beast.

“Rubio has been great on higher education and transportation,” Carroll said. “Cruz worked with us on USA Freedom Act, which he’s been a great ally on, and for which he’s been attacked by Rubio. But we’ve also had disagreements with Cruz on criminal justice.”