Former Treasury Secretary says attacks on Fed Governor Lisa Cook should be ‘chilling’ for Americans

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said the political pressures and personal attacks targeting Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook are unprecedented — and it should alarm anyone concerned about the independence of US institutions.

“I have to say that the use of prosecution of one’s adversaries, whether it’s the FBI visit to John Bolton’s home or whether it is the kind of attack that has been launched on Lisa Cook, is, I think, something that should be chilling to many Americans,” Summers said on Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid (video above).

Summers’s remarks come amid heightened tensions between the White House and the central bank. President Trump has repeatedly called for lower interest rates, adding to the strained relationship with Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

The criticism of Cook, however, represents a more personal escalation.

“If there’s a norm that all kinds of pressure tactics are legal, including bringing the power of law enforcement and investigation and demands for resignation to bear … if that becomes the new norm in American politics … [that] is a very profound threat,” he said.

Trump has escalated pressure on Cook recently, calling for her immediate resignation and warning, “I’ll fire her if she doesn’t resign,” following allegations from the Federal Housing Finance Agency that she committed mortgage fraud by misrepresenting her residences.

Cook — the first Black woman to serve on the Fed’s board — has firmly rejected the claims, stating she won’t be “bullied” by social media and is compiling accurate information to address legitimate questions about her financial history. Trump’s push could threaten the independence of the Fed, especially as his move could open the door for him to appoint a governor more allied with his views.

Read more: How much control does the president have over the Fed and interest rates?

The immediate economic impact of these disputes may be limited, but Summers warned of a more gradual, corrosive effect on the markets’ framework, even raising the specter of what he called the “Argentinization” of the US.

“I would hope that there’d be expressions of concern from the judiciary, from the business community, from people of goodwill everywhere,” he said.

Summers has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s policies.

He has blasted the recent passing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), calling out its potential to foster another financial crisis due to its creation of more debt obligations. Summers has also clapped back at current Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for publicly meddling in interest rate policy but praised Powell’s handling of the situation.