Who's the fairest of them all? Capitol Hill picks its beauties

Relief from the debt-ceiling blues has arrived with the release of this year's "Top 50 Most Beautiful" by The Hill, the Washington political newspaper.

The annual highlight of the calendar, the list selects from all members of Congress and their staff – who can appear on it only once. Finding 50 "beauties" on Capitol Hill can be challenging.

This year – thanks to last year's Republican landslide – has yielded a bumper crop. Among elected officials, fanciable Republican males rule.

Marco Rubio, the Tea Party-backed Senator from Florida, ranks well as does Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, called the Tom Cruise of Congress because he is a former air force pilot. And check out Michael Grimm of New York, a former US Marine.

But the No 1 spot is reserved for a woman. All hail to Amy Cheng, 26, a toiling staffer in the office of Senator Chuck Grassley. She is single, dedicated to volunteering – and a Republican.