Combine your math with being content with a slimmest of majorities with as few unmalable consertvatives as required, and the Turtle’s actions would make sense.
Any division between 48-52 and 52-48 is likely satisfactory enough in his mind, though within this range he would prefer the majority AND the most controlable caucus obtainable. 55 including not only a handful of people ready to lead change, but also many people willing to implement change if obtainable, and a realization that the “big tent” becomes meaningless if it includes everything AND doesn’t need to include everything would not be a happy outcome, I believe, in the view of the resident overlords.
That is a situation not to be feared by Mitch McConnell who will use it to compromise the country into submission to China and to the deep state, always claiming the need to compromise in order to keep "comity"less we fail to pass the next funding resolution etc.
