Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., spoke to a CNN reporter Wednesday after hearing the “good news” that lawmakers might get a raise.
The proposed expense account in Congress will deliver lawmakers their first pay raise since 2009, something that has received mixed reactions across the political spectrum.
Durbin was asked about Congress’ pay raises by CNN host Manu Raju, who asked, “members are giving themselves a raise. Do you deserve a raise?”
‘Well, that’s news to me. It’s good news,” Durbin replied. “You know what, it’s been ten or fourteen years and no Coke, no change at all? I think it’s time something happened.”
Sen. Dick Durbin turned the tables on a CNN reporter when asked whether lawmakers on the Hill might get a raise.
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When asked again if he supported the raise, Durbin continued to express surprise at the provision: “How could I not be aware of a raise?”
Raju pressed the senator, suggesting that “people look at Congress’s performance and say, ‘Why should we give them more money?'”
However, Durbin fired back at the CNN reporter, asking him how he and his colleagues in the media get paid the same when their ratings are low.
“What about the media? Think about that for a moment,” Durbin said.
“We are not paid with public money,” Raju replied.
“I know it’s not,” Durbin said. “But I mean, half your listeners are gone. You still get the same salary. What’s going on?’
“Well, I mean, you guys are tax dollars, I mean, do you deserve a raise?” asked Raju.
Committee Chairman Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The exchange was discussed by a CNN panel where they defended their colleague Raju.
“I thought it was so interesting this morning. Dick Durbin didn’t know this was in the bill when Manu asked him about it this morning, and he claimed it was nice information for him because it was 10 years ago,” CNN reported. Congressional correspondent Lauren Fox said.
“And he’s one of those who is a normal person when it comes to his bank account,” added CNN anchor Dana Bash.
According to one recent Gallup poll, the news media is the “least trusted group among the ten U.S. civil and political institutions,” with the U.S. Congress only slightly behind at 34%.
Liberal news networks have indeed done that got hit since Trump won the election.
MSNBC averaged 807,000 viewers per day and CNN 488,000. During primetime, MSNBC averaged 1.7 million viewers from 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM ET and CNN settled for just 700,000.
In early December, despite the busy news cycle, CNN’s dismal audience was smaller than TNT’s. Food Network, Freeform, Discovery, INSP, Hallmark Mystery, TLC, TBS, History, HGTV, USA, MSNBC, Paramount, Hallmark Channel, ESPN and Fox News.
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Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.
