The pandemic will define the Treasury secretary’s legacy, for better or for worse.

The pandemic will define the Treasury secretary’s legacy, for better or for worse.

Does he agree or disagree with President Trump's stance on a given issue? In Steven Mnuchin's view, that is irrelevant. He is there to follow orders.Credit...Erik Tanner for The New York TimesBy James B. Stewart and Alan RappeportWhen the pandemic hit, the task of saving the economy was an opportunity for Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to transform himself from an unremarkable Treasury secretary into a national hero.Mr. Mnuchin, a former banker and film financier, sought advice from his former Goldman Sachs colleagues, a cable-TV host, a Hollywood superagent, a disgraced Wall Street tycoon and Newt Gingrich. Unburdened by his own ideology and with a detail-disoriented boss, Mr. Mnuchin worked with Democrats to devise and pass the landmark stimulus bill.Afterward, President Trump hailed Mr. Mnuchin as a "great“ Treasury secretary and