Sheelah Kolhatkar on how Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin became one of the most consequential policy makers in the world. : How Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin became one of the most consequential policymakers in the world. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin became concerned about the novel coronavirus toward the end of January, while attending the annual World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland. COVID-19 was spreading rapidly in China, and authorities had closed off Wuhan, the city where the outbreak started. The theme at Davos was sustainability, but Mnuchin was surprised that no one was talking about the eleven million people under lockdown.