Electoral College Makes It Official: Donald Trump, New POTUS

Donald J. Trump is the 45th president of the United States. The Electoral College, despite the efforts of voters, to push past, having "The Apprentice" businessman as the next leader of the free world.

Republican electors granted him all but two of the 38 ballots in a ceremony in the State Capitol in Austin. The House chamber, where they met, greeted the vote with a standing ovation by citizens and officials who came to witness the event.

While the Electoral College vote is a mere footnote in history, The New York Times noted that this election's controversy added an element of drama after Donald Trump's win over democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Despite winning over 2.86 votes more than Donald Trump, the reality star won in more states, leaving Clinton with only 232 electoral votes over his 306.

The victory spawned efforts to block his path to the presidency. But as of today, the efforts are for naught as Republican electors were bound by tradition to support Donald Trump.

Huffington Post pointed out that it was not even the Republican voters that turned "faithless," as some who would have voted for Hillary Clinton actually turned around to vote for Bernie Sanders. One such voter, David Bright, announced his decision in advance, saying that he cast his vote for Sanders " not out of spite, or malice, or anger, or as an act of civil disobedience."

A Colorado elector, too, refused to vote for Hillary Clinton. Both cases, however, were treated differently -- Bright was ruled out of order, so he cast his vote for Clinton all the same, while the Colorado voter was dismissed and then replaced.

Despite the defectors, there was little doubt that Donald Trump could hold on to his seat as the next POTUS. To change the election results, there will have to be 38 Trump electors to defy their party -- and that is considered highly unlikely.