'No one gives a bleep': Trump orders GOP to derail bipartisan affordability legislation

President Donald Trump has worked behind the scenes to tank Republican support for a bipartisan bill in the Senate that would tackle housing affordability, Punchbowl News reported on Thursday.

The main issue, noted the report, is his insistence that his pet voter suppression bill, which just passed the House, be adopted in the Senate — something GOP leaders have said they don't have the votes for.

"The Senate is expected to pass the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act in a big bipartisan vote later this morning. The effort is led by Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)," said the report. "But as we scooped Wednesday night, Speaker Mike Johnson informed House GOP leaders this week that the president told him 'no one gives a [bleep] about housing' — a message intended to convey that Trump has made the SAVE America Act his top legislative priority instead. And all of this is far in the background of the Iran war, which is dominating everything in Washington."

The bill contains a grab bag of ideas on housing, including permitting reform to make it easier to build new housing inventory, and new incentives for local communities to boost production. It also includes limits on large "institutional investors" owning single family homes — an idea that experts are skeptical will do much for affordability, but enjoys widespread bipartisan support.

Trump's opposition is likely to erode already-sparse support for the legislation in the GOP-controlled House, noted the report.

"Rank-and-file House Republicans and their leaders are threatening to force a formal negotiation, potentially unraveling the carefully crafted Senate package," said the report. "Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told us he’d spoken to House colleagues on Wednesday about potential tweaks to the Senate’s housing bill. But the Louisiana Republican also warned that if the House rips the bill apart, Congress’ chance to pass a housing bill this year will be over."

Trump has previously threatened not to sign any legislation on his desk until the SAVE America Act is passed.