the defendant be banned from holding office in the future. Impeachment proceedings may not inflict more than this; however, a convicted party may face criminal penalties in a normal court of law. In the history of the United States, the House of Representatives has impeached sixteen officials, of whom seven were convicted. Another resigned before the Senate could complete the trial. Only two presidents have ever been impeached: Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1999. Both trials ended in acquittal ; in Johnson's case, the Senate fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction . In 1974, Richard Nixon resigned from office after impeachment proceedings in the House Judiciary Committee indicated he would eventually be removed from office. The Senate has an important check on the executive power by confirming Cabinet officials , judges , and other high officers "by and with the advice and consent" of the Senate. It confirms most presidential nominees but rejections are not uncommon. Furthermore, treaties negotiated by the President must be ratified by a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate to take effect. As a result, presidential arm-twisting of senators can happen before a key vote; for example, President Obama's secretary of state, Hillary Rodham Clinton , urged her former senate colleagues to approve a nuclear arms treaty with Russia in 2010. [ 93 ] The House of Representatives has no formal role in either the ratification of treaties or the appointment of federal officials, other than filling vacancies