The “Hill’s” 50 Most Beautiful Talk Life, Love, Fitness, and Food

Senator Tim Scott is one of the Hill’s 50 Most Beautiful this year. Photograph via Wikimedia Commons.

It’s the dog days of summer, which means it’s also the dog days for the capital’s
politics-centric media. Several years ago the
Hill newspaper found an antidote to the lull—it began
publishing a list of Capitol Hill’s
“50 most beautiful people.” Yes, it got joked about, but it
also was a hit. It has
evolved over time and now, in its tenth year, it includes men
and women from the Capitol
and beyond, which begs the question: Could the Capitol and its environs be running out of beautiful people? The list runs as a pull-out section in the newspaper and
is also available online.
There are photos, of course, with the chosen doing their best
to pose as if it is
a routine part of their Washington lives. But our favorite part
is the quotes. In
the past we’ve sampled, but this year, in honor of a decade of
being able to find
50 beautiful people in DC, we’ve gleaned a quote from each
person on the list (which
this year does not include Michele Bachmann). Read on for the
choice quotes.

Jeff Flake, senator: “It’s always a party on my birthday.” (His birthday is New Year’s
Eve.)

Kirby Bumpus, special assistant at HHS: “This is a great city to be a young person.”

Sam Kass, a White House chef: “I have trouble turning down a good Buffalo wing.”

Sara Zou, TV production assistant: “Going onstage in a swimsuit and high heels is
very motivating to get into a healthy lifestyle.”

Chellie Zou, TV production assistant: “It’s nice to have someone by your side,” referring
to her twin sister, Sara.

Tulsi Gabbard, representative: “My fridge is empty.”

Eric Ortega, legislative assistant and dancer: “Boys don’t usually dance, so they
throw money at it. It was really my way out.”

Zack Condry, political strategist: “Chopping vegetables is just Zen for me.”

Julie Goldfarb, legislative aide: “My friends make fun of me. I have super curly hair.
. . . I’m very minimalistic when it comes to makeup. I just pretty much do myself.”

Alisha Johnson, government spokes person: “I love to travel. The bug was planted early.”

Jake Tapper, broadcast journalist: “I try to stay pretty focused during the week on salads and water.”

Frederica Wilson, representative: “I was always a prissy little girl who wanted to be like my grandmother.”

Sam Sanchez, external affairs coordinator: “I’m not playing around anymore. It’s seriously like, go big or go home now.”

Lisa Marie Gomez, policy aide: “When I was in high school they called me Rapunzel.”

Kyle Wherrity, legislative assistant: “Veronica in the Cannon Salon my be the House’s best-kept secret.”

Alexandra Fetissoff, press secretary: “I was born seven weeks early, and I just haven’t stopped.”

Sarah Majzoub, executive assistant: “I really like the power.”

Paul Kendrick, special assistant: “I’m not sure I’m particularly healthy.”

Mike Bednarczyk, legislative assistant: “I’m really into music. I like playing anything with a keyboard.”

John Kruse, military adviser: “I like Washington. . . . Once you’re here, it’s hard to go back to anywhere else.”

Marie Aberger, internet communications staffer: “I just try to look, no matter what, like I got some sleep last night.”

Rory Riley, staff director: “When you’re grumpy and frown a lot, it ages you.”

Pete Haviland-Eduah, deputy press secretary: “I’ll cook anything from scratch. I think probably my favorite food that I make is lamb shank.”

Carlos Gutierrez Jr., attorney: “I travel to Miami often just to get Cuban food.”

Jennifer Lee, emergency room doctor: “I don’t sleep much.”

Rob Fallon, legislative aide: “I would say if you’re a guy, get a good tailor.”

Claire Shipman, broadcast journalist: “The idea of balance—things are never perfectly in balance.”

Beto O’Rourke, representative: “Juárez is the reason I’m married.”

Victoria Benner, legislative analyst: “I’m like a 90-year-old woman.”

Caitlin Poling, lobbyist: “By the end I’m just going, ‘cup-cake, cup-cake, cup-cake.’”

Yado Yakub, military legislative assistant: “My full name is Ali Iyad Yakub, but nobody ever calls me that. Everyone, including my parents, calls me Yado.”

Michael Del Moro, White House visitors office: “Most people are actually pretty jealous of the red hair.”

Joe Loeffler, lobbyist: “My face moisturizer has a sunscreen. It’s a win-win.”

Scott Cunningham, legislative director: “You don’t bring your C-game or B-game to dance at the wedding reception. You bring your A-game.”

Tim Scott, senator: “I’m bald. I’m a bald Republican.”

Denny Wirtz, legislative assistant: “People often comment on how much I can eat.”

Julie McClain, press secretary: “It’s just a piece of who I am, and in a few years, it’ll seem like,‘Remember those four months I had cancer, that was weird.’”

Kyle Simpson, special assistant: “I started running a year after I moved out here just because I was sick of being lazy.”

Mary Bruce, digital journalist: “I dream of one day being one of those people with a die-hard hobby.”

Jeremy Scott, intern coordinator: “I broke my back falling out of my attic six years ago.”

Ethan McClelland, special assistant: His middle name is “Love.”

Carolyn Walser, executive assistant: “The last years of college I lived by the livestock auction, which was fun. . . . Occasionally around 11 o’clock at night you’d hear a ‘moooooo’ or something.”

Dao Nguyen, legislative assistant: “I’m Vietnamese, my parents were refugees from Vietnam, and I was born in France.”

Tonya Williams, legislative director: “DC will take everything you give it and there’s always more to give.”

Lauren Culbertson, press secretary: “It’s not drinking! It’s a combination of ballet, Pilates, and yoga.”

Eric Bohl, chief of staff: “I was explaining what I do to my son and he believes that [his boss] was part of every law ever passed.”

Kelly Heinrich, nonprofit founder: “I keep running away, and I keep getting sucked back.”

Emmanuel Guillory, legislative assistant: “It’s just like seeing John Boehner get on stage and dance like Justin Timberlake.”

Cayley Tullman, consultant and strategist: “Someone had to be the enforcer.”

Catherine Wilkins, staff and press assistant: “I’m really not scared of a lot. . . . I just have that outlook.”

Carol Ross Joynt