Rasmussen has the latest approval numbers for Congress, and it isn't pretty. Performance approval has been dropping and dropping, and has now hit an all time low of 5%.

Just when you think the numbers couldn’t get any worse for Congress, the end of session debacle over the payroll tax extension comes along and drives perceptions of Congress even lower.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just five percent (5%) of Likely Voters rate the job Congress is doing as good or excellent. Sixty-eight percent (68%) view Congress’ job performance as poor. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

That’s the lowest level of congressional approval ever recorded by Rasmussen Reports. However, in the larger sense, it’s just a continuation of a downward trend as the percentage who give Congress good marks has remained in single-digits since mid-April.

A scant 1% says Congress is doing an 'excellent' job, with 4% rating Congressional performance as 'good' and an overwhelming 68% rating Congressional performance as poor. The most damning number, though, may be the 86% of respondents who say that members of Congress are more interested in their careers than in helping others.