Janet Yellen Is Struggling at the Treasury Job She Never Wanted

Some of Yellen’s travails come with the territory. US Treasury secretaries are supposed to take a leading role in formulating economic policy but at times wield less influence over important matters than the president’s own cadre of advisers. The job demands sharp elbows and assertive salesmanship, helpful in dealing with Congress. These are qualities frequently associated with Robert Rubin, Henry Paulson, and Steven Mnuchin, all of whom worked at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. before being tapped for the top job at Treasury, and not with a soft-spoken technocrat like Yellen, who’s accustomed to the more predictable and measured world of central banking.