A former Treasury Department official on Tuesday pushed back against President Donald Trump's attempts to fire one of the Federal Reserve governors.

Lawrence Summers, who was the Treasury Secretary during the Clinton administration, discussed Trump's attempt to fire Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve. Trump has claimed that allegations of mortgage fraud against Cook give him sufficient cause to fire her. Cook has denied all wrongdoing, and her lawyer has suggested that Trump doesn't have the authority to fire her.

Summers joined CNN's Kasie Hunt on "The Arena" on Tuesday to discuss the events.

"This seems, in terms of process, to be a highly problematic action by the president from a legal point of view," Summers said. "And from a prudential point of view, it surely contributes, indeed it's what the president said and what [Treasury Secretary] Scott Bessent said, contributes to a sense that we're going to have political control of monetary policy."

"The general judgment has been that political control of monetary policy means less credibility; that means higher inflation expectations; it means higher inflation and a weaker economy, and it means that the president has nowhere to go, in terms of blame, than himself if we have economic outcomes that none of us prefer," Summers added.

Trump has consistently sought to take credit for the performance of the U.S. economy during his presidency. Summers warned that this plan could backfire, especially if he succeeds in removing a Federal Reserve governor for political reasons.

"This is a surprising and imprudent action," Summers said.

Watch the entire clip below or by clicking here.