U.S. Congress certifies Trump's Electoral College victory

The U.S. 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.

The Republican businessman, 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 tally read by Vice President Joe Biden, Reuters reported.

The electoral votes were opened before a joint session of Congress in what is considered a formality for most presidential elections.