openpolitics.com

Amid Trump Controversies, Tax Overhaul’s Uncertain Path

Congressional Republicans say an ambitious plan is in the works, but obstacles remain

Nobody is quite sure what the White House position is, or when it will become clear. And the whole process is being slowed down by the struggle over whether and how to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which itself is bogged down in uncertainty.

.. Still, GOP leaders consider handling Obamacare first vital for procedural reasons. It’s necessary to resolve the costs and tax implications of the health plan to write a new budget. And under congressional rules a new budget plan is necessary to provide an umbrella under which a tax overhaul can be passed with a simple majority, thereby avoiding a potentially deadly Democratic filibuster in the Senate.