What in blue blazes is Mitch McConnell doing?

The guy who is arguably the most skilled legislator in the history of the United States — at least since Henry Clay wore homespun suits — is sitting out of the contentious debate over President Donald Trump’s partial shutdown of the government.

The Kentucky Republican is not lending his expertise to help Trump negotiate a deal with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. He’s acting like a disinterested backbencher more concerned about whether he’ll be out of the office in time for happy hour at Johnny’s Half Shell.

In recent days, the senior senator from Kentucky has been getting pressure from some of his own members to become more engaged in the standoff between Trump and the House and Senate Democrats over whether to spend $5 billion in the next budget year to build a wall on our border with Mexico.

So far, McConnell has refused, saying he won’t even allow a vote on a Democratic House plan to fund government.

“I’ve made it clear on several occasions, and let me say it again: The Senate will not take up any proposal that does not have a real chance of passing this chamber and getting a presidential signature,” McConnell said.

Related:John Yarmuth questions Mitch McConnell's stance on ending shutdown

Here lies the problem. Trump said he won’t sign a bill that doesn’t have funding for a wall; and Pelosi has said the House won’t pass a spending plan that does.

So, while McConnell sits on his hands, 800,000 federal workers affected by the partial shutdown aren’t being paid.

It’s a crisis that really doesn’t need to be happening.

McConnell and Schumer thought they had a deal to pass a continuing resolution that would have stopped short of paying for a wall but kept government open until February. That was the plan until Trump changed his mind just before Christmas and said he would shut down the government if $5 billion for the wall was not included.

What's on tap in Kentucky legislature:Pensions, taxes and anger

Now, McConnell says that resolution – which he once backed – isn’t good enough. But he’s not going to help Trump, Pelosi and Schumer figure out how to get past the impasse.

In the process, McConnell has made the Senate he so dearly loves into a weak body subservient to a chaotic president even he can’t trust to do what is right.

The big problem with this whole fight is that both sides see this as central to who they are as a party.

You may like:Stolen cash and a missing trucker still have Louisville police stumped

Trump ran for office and won based on his argument that we as a nation are under siege from illegal aliens who pour over our border to take our jobs, commit crimes and take our welfare.

Democrats, on the other hand, see the GOP attacks as outrageous, xenophobic hyperbole that is immoral and, if allowed to go unchecked, will diminish us as a people and a nation.

Trump’s hubris won’t allow McConnell to give in at this point, and Pelosi and Schumer see no advantage to negotiating to end a government shutdown for which Trump accepted responsibility during a December meeting with them.

“I am proud to shut down the government for border security,” he said at the meeting. “I will be the one to shut it down. I’m not going to blame you for it. The last time you shut it down, it didn’t work. I will take the mantle of shutting down.”

On Friday, Trump said he was prepared to keep the government shutdown going for months, possibly even years.

So, that leaves us with McConnell, who for years has been able to cut deals when no one else could. He has the power to go to Trump and tell him that he needs to agree to something less than full funding or risk a revolt by Senate Republicans.

In the past, including during the debate over the Affordable Care Act, McConnell has urged the Democrats to cut a deal and just pass legislation that included only what legislators on both sides could agree to — leaving the most controversial things on the cutting room floor.

What's on tap in the Kentucky legislatur:Pensions, taxes and anger

No one thought it was a serious proposal at the time. By leaving off the controversial parts, it would have watered down the bill so badly that it would have had little effect on the health care crisis. It also would have given the Republicans what they wanted and Democrats next to nothing.

Here’s an idea.

If McConnell was serious then and his proposed compromise was the way forward, he should have absolutely no problem cutting a deal like that now.

But he wasn’t serious then.

And he’d never cut a deal like that now.

But it’s clear he needs to do something.

Because the more Trump and Pelosi dig in, the harder it will be to reach an agreement. And that’s just not fair to the 800,000 federal workers who aren’t being paid — some of whom are being forced to work anyway.

It's time to get into the game, Mitch.

Joseph Gerth's opinion column runs on most Sundays and at various times throughout the week. He can be reached at 502-582-4702 or by email at jgerth@courierjournal.com. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal/josephg.