WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump returned over and over to the same question as he mulled his next Supreme Court nomination: "Who's the best here?"

His final answer was hardly a surprise. Trump landed on the person who had long been his leading contender — DC-based federal appeals judge Brett Kavanaugh, an established Republican favorite.

Still, the days leading up to Trump's grand reveal Monday night were filled with frenzied deliberations, last-minute lobbying efforts and an aggressive effort to ensure secrecy, according to nine people with knowledge of the process who requested anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

With characteristic flair, Trump sought to keep the guessing game going until just hours before the ceremony.

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