(Eagle News) — The United States congress certified the Electoral College vote that gave republican Donald Trump his victory in the contentious 2016 Presidential Election after a raucous half-hour joint session punctuated by democratic challenges.
Trump, whose presidential campaign was his first bid for public office, garnered 304 electoral votes, compared with 227 won by his democratic challenger, Hillary Clinton, according to the vote tallied read by Vice President Joe Biden.
The electoral votes were opened before a joint session of congress in what is considered a formality for most presidential elections.