Judy Woodruff:

The nation's capital was riveted during the fall of 2018 after President Trump, for his second nomination to the Supreme Court, chose a 53-year-old federal judge, Brett Kavanaugh.

What was already a bitter partisan fight grew even more so after a California woman, Christine Blasey Ford, charged that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her in high school. He forcefully rejected the claim and went on to sit on the court.

But the fascinating the story of how he got there is the focus of a new book, "Supreme Ambition," by Washington Post columnist and editor Ruth Marcus, a familiar face here on the "NewsHour."

Welcome back to the "NewsHour," Ruth Marcus.