(SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday he has not been “sidelined” in talks to reopen parts of the government but that he has “no particular role” to play in ending the standoff, a responsibility he said falls to President Trump and congressional Democrats who wield expanded power in the new Congress.

In a brief hallway interview, McConnell explained that his role is now reversed from when he and then-Vice President Joe Biden worked to avoid a fiscal cliff and negotiated other tough issues during the Obama administration.

“Well, it’s not complicated. I was in this role when Obama was president and Biden and I did deals because they needed some of our votes. So, now the role is reversed and ultimately the solution to this is a deal between the President and Nancy and Chuck because we need some of Chuck’s votes and obviously we need Nancy’s support,” he said, referring to newly installed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York.

“So, I haven’t been sidelined. It’s just that there’s no particular role for me when you have this setup,” McConnell added.