WASHINGTON -- Congress on Friday formally certified President-elect Donald Trump as the winner of the 2016 election, rejecting efforts by a handful of Democratic House members to challenge the election's legitimacy.
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It took about 30 minutes for lawmakers to review and tally the electoral votes, which had been cast Dec. 19 by members of the Electoral College.
When it was over, the Republican nominee had 304 votes, 34 more than the minimum number required to win.
Members of the Senate and the Senate's president, Vice President Joe Biden, also attended Friday's joint session of Congress.
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Biden wielded the gavel and led the proceedings, just one day after calling on Trump to "grow up" and "be an adult."
But the vice president's ire Friday was aimed at the small number of fellow Democrats who repeatedly challenged pro-Trump ballots even after being informed repeatedly that their objections were out of order.
Under federal law, the objections could be aired only if they were signed by at least one member of both the House and the Senate, and Senate Democrats had declined to challenge the votes.
After disallowing challenges to the electors from Alabama and Florida, Biden tossed out objections to the electors from Georgia, as well.
"There's no debate. There's no debate," he said, telling an anti-Trump lawmaker, "It is over."
Biden's comment spawned scattered laughter, followed by a Republican standing ovation.
There weren't any objections raised to Arkansas' slate of electors.
A teller declared that "the certificate of the electoral vote of the state of Arkansas seems to be regular in form and authentic and it appears therefrom that Donald J. Trump of the state of New York received six votes for President and Michael R. Pence of the state of Indiana received six votes for vice president."
Once the votes were tallied, the results were announced: 304 votes for Trump; Democrat Hillary Clinton, 227; former Secretary of State Colin Powell, 3; Ohio Gov. John Kasich, 1; U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, 1; former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, 1: and one vote for Faith Spotted Eagle, a native American activist from South Dakota.
Overall, seven of the 538 votes were cast by "faithless electors" -- electors who disregarded the outcome of the election in their home state.
As the final tally was read, there were three separate outbursts from the visitor's gallery. Three spectators stood and objected to Trump's victory.
Law enforcement officials quickly removed them from the chamber. The two men and one woman were arrested.
A Capitol Police spokesman said the trio, Ryan Clayton of New Hampshire, Tania Maduro of Connecticut and Renaldo Pearson of Massachusetts had been charged with violating the law.
The Code of the District of Columbia 10-503.16(b)(4) makes it a crime "to utter loud, threatening, or abusive language, or to engage in any disorderly or disruptive conduct, at any place upon the United States Capitol Grounds or within any of the Capitol Buildings with intent to impede, disrupt, or disturb the orderly conduct of any session of the Congress or either House thereof, or the orderly conduct within any such building of any hearing before, or any deliberations of, any committee or subcommittee of the Congress or either House thereof."
The protesters were expected to be released by sometime Friday evening.
Once the election results had been announced, Biden pounded the gavel and the joint session of Congress was dissolved.
U.S. Sen. John Boozman, who sat in the second row next to the middle aisle, said afterward that Friday's ceremony was important.
"It's always exciting to be [here] when you're passing the power from one group to another group in a very peaceful way. That's really what our democracy's all about," the Rogers Republican said. "These are things that are fairly routine, but the symbolism and what you're actually doing really is very, very important."
The protests, Boozman said, had been "very inappropriate."
"There's a time and a place for everything and that is not the time to be doing it," Boozman said. "Once you agree to sit in the balcony and observe, then you agree to a certain set of rules. Everyone knows that part of those rules [require] not being obstructive to the things that are going on on the floor."
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton called Friday's proceedings "the culmination of a very long campaign. ... The people spoke in November and now I'm looking forward to the inauguration, getting to work with the Trump administration."
The Dardanelle Republican said he enjoyed Friday's session.
"It was fun. You know, it's one of those ceremonial moments that only come around every few years and it's a real honor to be a part of it," he said.
U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, a Rogers Republican, said Friday's joint session helped to "formalize that decision that happened back in November," adding, "Now we have this wonderful opportunity to lead."
A Section on 01/07/2017