Sen. Lee won’t pick sides in 2016 GOP fight

GOP Sen. Mike Lee (Utah) tells The Hill that he won’t pick a favorite among his three colleagues running for the White House in 2016.

The Utah senator is closely aligned with fellow Republican Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas), Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Rand Paul (Ky.), who have all officially announced candidacies for president.

{mosads}“Three of my favorite co-workers are running for president at the same time. For the time being, I want to be as supportive as I can of all three of them. At this point, I don’t intend to endorse any one of them because I really like them all,” Lee said in an on-camera interview with The Hill’s Molly Hooper.

Lee, a staunch conservative and author of Our Lost Constitution, has turned heads lately by teaming up with some unlikely liberal Democratic allies on several bills. One measure would reform National Security Agency surveillance, while another would change sentencing guidelines for drug offenses.

Of his Republican colleagues vying for the White House, only Cruz co-sponsored the NSA bill. The legislation is also co-sponsored by liberal Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin (Ill.), Patrick Leahy (Vt.) and Charles Schumer (N.Y.)

Lee is optimistic that the measure will make it through Congress before the Patriot Act is set to expire on June 1.

“It’s got to pass, and we are going to do everything we can to get it to pass between now and then. It’s going to be a big fight, but I think we can get it across,” Lee said.

Watch the video clip above to hear Lee discuss the White House race and Patriot Act fight.