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Rachel Barber on Muck Rack

Rachel Barber

Verified
Washington, D.C.
As seen in: USA Today, MSN, MSN Ireland, Yahoo Entertainment, Yahoo Life, Yahoo Canada, Yahoo News, Yahoo News Malaysia, Yahoo News New Zealand, Yahoo News UK, Yahoo Singapore and
Making sense of the economy @USATODAY | rbarber@usatoday.com | Signal: rachelbarber.44

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Rachel Barber’s Biography

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Rachel covers politics and education for USA TODAY. Before joining USA TODAY, she was the News Editor for The Daily Item, among other publications, for Essex Media Group in Lynn, Massachusetts. She has a political science and journalism degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Rachel is based in Washington D.C.

Articles

Paychecks gone in a 'blink.' Rising costs on the minds of Americans Original

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By Rachel Barber Verified, Jessica Guynn Verified, Medora Lee Verified
| USA Today Verified
July 19, 2026, 5:07 a.m. ET Esther Malkin is dipping into savings to pay the rent. Mike DeDivitis tapped his retirement account to cover repairs on his pickup. Kerigan Rosado is baking bread to save a few bucks at the supermarket. American consumers are hard-pressed to remember a time when inflation wasn’t on their minds. Consumer prices have spiked for five straight years. In that span, prices have risen more than 25%.
Open in Who Shared View Duplicates (42) Issue with article?

No 'excuse' for rate hike, Hassett says. What Fed officials think

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By Rachel Barber Verified
| Miami Herald Verified
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said the Federal Reserve has no "excuse" to raise its benchmark for interest rates after the Labor Department's latest jobs report showed inflation slowed in June. The Fed typically raises rates to help tame inflation and lowers them to help stimulate the job market. After months of climbing prices and positive hiring, some forecasters were beginning to expect a hike soon.
Open in Who Shared View Duplicates (53) Issue with article?

Can the Fed lower inflation? 5 takeaways from Warsh on Capitol Hill

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By Rachel Barber Verified
| Yahoo Finance Verified
In two congressional hearings dominated by questions on artificial intelligence and central bank independence, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh kept his commitment simple: he plans to get inflation back to the Fed's 2% target. Lawmakers pressed Warsh on how the Fed could ultimately bring prices down for consumers when it has little control over some of the things that have been driving them up, including the Iran war.
Open in Who Shared View Duplicates (2) Issue with article?
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Interview

What was your first job as a journalist?

My first job as a journalist was for Essex Media Group in Lynn, MA. I worked as a reporter for a year before being promoted to news editor.