CNN reporter confronts Senator Dem over Congress pay raise: Despite low ratings, your salary remains unchanged

On Wednesday, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., clashed with a CNN reporter over the possibility of a pay raise for lawmakers.

The proposed spending bill in Congress will grant lawmakers their first pay raise since 2009, sparking varying reactions among politicians.

Manu Raju of CNN asked Durbin about the congressional pay raises, inquiring, "Do members deserve a pay raise for giving themselves one?"

"Durbin replied, "That's news to me. It's good news. It's been 10 or 14 years without any cola changes, and I think it's time for something to be done.""

Durbin continued to express surprise at the provision, "How would I not be informed about a pay raise?"

Raju urged the senator to consider the public's perception of Congress's performance when deciding whether to provide additional funding.

Durbin challenged the CNN reporter on how they manage to earn the same pay despite low ratings.

Durbin suggested considering the media's role for a moment.

"We’re not paid by public money," Raju replied.

""You're still getting the same paycheck, but half of your listeners are no longer there. What's going on?" Durbin asked."

Raju inquired, "You're taxpayer money, right? So, do you guys deserve a raise?"

A CNN panel defended their colleague Raju during a discussion about the exchange.

CNN congressional correspondent Lauren Fox stated that she found it fascinating this morning when Dick Durbin was unaware that this detail was included in the bill, and he argued that it was beneficial information for him because it had been a decade.

Dana Bash, a CNN host, stated that he is a typical individual when it comes to managing his finances.

The U.S. Congress is the second least trusted group among 10 U.S. civic and political institutions, according to a recent Gallup poll.

Liberal news networks have indeed taken a hit since Trump won the election.

MSNBC had 807,000 total day viewers while CNN had 488,000. During primetime, MSNBC had 1.7 million viewers from 8-11 p.m. ET, while CNN had only 700,000.

Despite the busy news cycle in early December, CNN's audience was smaller than several other networks, including TNT, Food Network, Freeform, Discovery, INSP, Hallmark Mystery, TLC, TBS, History, HGTV, USA, MSNBC, Paramount, Hallmark Channel, ESPN, and Planet Chronicle.

Planet Chronicle' Brian Flood contributed to this report.