If the majority of the Rs wanted to then, yes, they could drum up his support. They could make the case that he was handpicked by Trump and many in Congress could come out endorsing him as Trump’s disciple and maybe even say he would be firmer in his decisions than Trump was.

I think many underestimate the Republican hive mind. It could, also, easily go the other way and totally implode but I think as long as they can have someone to take Heritage Foundation orders then they could/would rally around that person in order to not lose their momentum.