Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) called on Tuesday for President Obama and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to make their fiscal talks public.
"I really think, honestly, that this is not a good way to handle important American business," Sessions said on CNN's "Starting Point."
Sessions has repeatedly criticized the private talks, saying they should be out in the open and in public.
"That's what we have Congress for," Sessions said. "That's what the whole process is designed to do, is to get out of these secret meetings and into the public venue so the American people and the Congress themselves — we're responsible for making intelligent decisions. That should be done publicly."
Sessions conceded though that there were moments when private negotiations are appropriate.
"But we've gone now for three years with a real serious problem," Sessions added. "No budget, no appropriations bill this year, it's just not a good way to do American business."
Obama and Boehner met privately Sunday and their staffs were at work on Monday. They have not released any details on the talks to avoid scheduled spending cuts and tax hikes set for January.
Earlier on CNN, Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) argued the scant details being released of the talks between Obama and Boehner is actually a good sign.
"Nothing is certain, but I think whispering in the White House is better than finger-pointing in the media," Israel said. "It suggests, like in any negotiation, the parties are serious, they're trying to work out some acceptable compromise.
"I think that Speaker Boehner has received some kind of pressure from some of his members who are looking at polls," Israel said. "The bottom line is no news may be good news in this case."
