then the house votes. a simple majority is all that's needed to approve the impeachment, which is about 218 votes, give or take a few for vacancies. then once the house approves the articles of impeachment, it goes to the senate, which essentially holds a trial, acting as the courtroom and the jury. the senate needs two-thirds or 67 members to vote for impeachment. that means where things stand right now, 18 republicans would have to vote to impeach the president. if that were to happen, the president would very likely be removed from office and the vice president would take his place. we've never gotted ed tten to before. the senate acquitted andrew johnson and bill clinton before impeaching them. richard nixon resigned before he was impeached. i want to talk now with a man who served as legal counsel to the judiciary committee during that time, michael conway. michael, good to have you here. thank you for being with us. are we at a time where we should