[shepherdjerred]

A refactor should, at the very least, be in another commit if not another PR.

The refactor being separate in a separate commit/PR makes your code easier to review.

> Why did you do this refactor with the feature?

This indicates that the team doesn't think the refactor is needed or it wasn't a priority for them.

Teams that push back probably have a different mindset than you. Some teams don't understand the negative impact of tech debt, others don't know how to prioritize it.