Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, at podium address the Virginia Electoral College in the House of Delegates chambers at the Capitol in Richmond, Va., Monday, Dec. 15, 2008. (AP Photo/Stf)

WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States.

Not considered news since his Nov. 8, when he defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by collecting 306 electoral votes. This despite losing the popular vote by nearly three million.

On Monday, the result was ratified by the voters of the Electoral College, who gathered in state capitols across the United States to formally vote for president. The voting is still in progress, but by early evening, Trump surpassed the 270 required, according to the Associated Press. The news agency tracked voting from capitol to capitol. The result came despite the efforts of Trump opponents, who wrote letters to his electors trying to persuade them to change their vote.

Adding insult to injury, not only did that not happen, but more electors tried to defect Hillary Clinton Monday than from Trump, by a count of seven to two, as of Monday afternoon. Three Democratic electors chose to vote for Sen. Bernie Sanders instead of Clinton — one from Maine, one from Minnesota and one from Colorado. The electors’ votes, however, were disallowed because of state rules binding them to the statewide popular vote winner.

The most tumult occurred in Washington state, where four Democrats broke ranks and rejected Clinton. Three voted for Colin Powell, marking the first electoral votes for an African-American Republican, and the first time in history a major party elector crossed the aisle and supported a candidate of the opposing major party. The fourth elector, Robert Satiacum, cast his ballot for Faith Spotted Eagle, a Native American environmental activist.