Repeal of Obamacare's taxes gets more complicated with tax reform

The Wall Street Journal makes an important point today about a subset of the Obamacare repeal fight: the lobbying to repeal the law's taxes, like the ones on medical devices and investment income for the wealthy. It gets more complicated to get rid of them, the Journal points out, if President Trump and Congress don't reach some kind of resolution on Trumpcare. That would shift all of the lobbying for repeal of those taxes to the tax reform fight, which is already likely to be complicated enough.

What to watch: Trump seems determined not to give up on the health care bill, so House Republicans keep plugging away in a desperate search for an agreement. As long as that continues, tax reform can't move ahead. But at some point, the interest groups lobbying for repeal of the Obamacare taxes — like medical device makers — will have to shift their focus to tax reform if it becomes clear that the health care revival isn't happening.