Judge Brett Kavanaugh has hired high-powered Washington, D.C., trial attorney Beth Wilkinson to represent him as he seeks to protect his U.S. Supreme Court nomination after a California professor accused him of sexually assaulting her when they were both in high school, CNN reported Monday.

Kavanaugh denies the claim by Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused him of attempting to sexually assault her over three decades ago.

Wilkinson did not respond to a request for comment Monday. Her firm, Wilkinson Walsh + Eskovitz, declined to comment. White House spokesman Raj Shah, who has overseen communications for Kavanaugh's nomination, also declined to comment.