By Theodore Schleifer, Deirdre Walsh and Ted Barrett
WASHINGTON — (CNN) Donald Trump was formally certified as the winner of the presidential election Friday, after handful of congressman tried to object during the tally of Electoral College votes, a desperate gambit quickly squashed by Vice President Joe Biden.
Vice President Joe Biden repeatedly told objecting congressman that their attempt to disrupt the usually staid moment that their objections were invalid because they did not have the signature of a United States senator. Biden, at times exasperated by the scene, at one point cautioned his fellow Democrats: “It is over.”
“There is no debate. There is no debate. There is no debate,” Biden repeated to Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, one of the frequent objectors in the Capitol.
At least three protestors were swiftly removed by security when shouting during the certification. US Capitol Police spokeswoman Eva Malecki told CNN they arrested two males and one female and says they are being processed at U.S. Capitol Police Headquarters. They will release more information on charges later today.
Leaving the chamber, Republican Sen. John Cornyn said he thought the protests were “kind of embarrassing.”
Those upset by the vote tried to voice their displeasure with everything from alleged voting machine malfunctions to claims of “massive voter suppression” to worries about hackings from Russia. But Biden talked over each of their speeches unless they could produce a signature.
“We thought it was very important that we at least acknowledge the obvious,” Jackson Lee told reporters, “the obvious was that there were absolute violations, absolute failures in the Democratic process in the 2016 election and most hideous and most glaring was the documented intrusion of Vladimir Putin in the 2016 election for one candidate over another.”
Trump received 304 electoral votes when electors gathered at state capitols in December to formally cast their ballots. Hillary Clinton received 227. Seven “faithless” electors voted for other candidates, costing Trump two votes and Clinton four.
Trump will be officially sworn in January 20.
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