Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers warned that the intense political scrutiny and personal attacks directed at Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook are “unprecedented,” urging stakeholders to defend the Fed independence that underpins monetary credibility and market stability.
Summers cautioned that sustained politicization could incrementally erode the institutional checks that preserve the market framework, raising the specter of an Argentinization-style outcome—a historical pattern marked by high inflation, currency depreciation and institutional breakdown—if corrective governance is not maintained.
He also reiterated concerns about fiscal and policy choices, criticizing the Build Back Better Act for adding to debt obligations and noting unease over Treasury Secretary Yellen’s public interventions in interest rate policy, while expressing support for Chair Powell’s measured responses (FXStreet).