Jens Spahn Resigns as Chairman of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group

The Resignation Verbatim

Spahn acknowledged that the compatibility with the political office had recently seemed impossible to him: "In recent days I have come to realize that my personal happiness — founding a family and becoming a father together with my husband — is not compatible with my political office." The CDU politician spoke of a balancing act "that has grown larger than I had expected." At the same time, he criticized the "growing relentlessness" in the public dispute, which had made him "very reflective." "One thing has become increasingly clear to me in recent days: my family is what matters most to me," he added.

At the same time, Spahn called for respectful conduct in the debate: "Let us, amid all clarity and resolve on the matter, always remain humane in tone," he wrote to his fellow group members. He expressly thanked them for "the joint work over the past 14 months" and wished them "all the best." In a podcast with "Bild" reporter Paul Ronzheimer the previous Friday, he had said: "I have wrestled with myself for a long time, also when it comes to the issue of surrogacy. But it was precisely through this wrestling and engaging with the issue that we decided on this path."

Reactions from the Coalition

CDU chief and Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the resignation "right" and "inevitable." "Credibility is the highest asset in politics," Merz said and added: "I thank Jens Spahn for the cooperation." Previously, Merz himself — as reported by the Deutsche Presse-Agentur citing his circle — had called on Spahn to resign. At the same time, Merz emphasized his party friend's achievements: "In the development of the major reform projects of recent weeks, Jens Spahn was an important pillar of the coalition," he said in a written statement.

CSU chairman Markus Söder responded with respect: "I thank Jens Spahn for the very good cooperation, especially in difficult times." CSU regional group leader Alexander Hoffmann, who will take over the duties of office until a new group chairman is elected, declared: "Jens Spahn's decision deserves the very highest respect. Jens Spahn led the Union group through challenging times and made a significant contribution to this coalition's success, for which I thank him personally very much." The group remains "able to decide and act," Hoffmann added.

Sharp Criticism from the Opposition

There was collegial recognition from the ranks of the SPD. SPD group chairman Matthias Miersch said that he and Spahn had worked together "very closely and trustfully." "I have great respect for Jens Spahn's decision," Miersch declared, wishing Spahn and his family "all the best and much strength." CDU deputy chairwoman Karin Prien also thanked Spahn "for the good and trustful cooperation."

Sharp criticism, by contrast, came from the opposition. Green party group chairwoman Katharina Dröge Brantner told the "Rheinische Post": "The resignation was overdue — even if it was only the last straw on an already hot stone." The Green party's health policy spokesman, Janosch Dahmen, accused the former health minister of "double standards": "Anyone who politically propagates rules should be able to plausibly explain why they evidently should not apply to themselves," he told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland.

Spahn's Earlier Positions on Surrogacy

Die Linke chairman Luigi Pantisano declared that the resignation had been "long overdue." Referring to the mask affair during the COVID-19 pandemic, Pantisano said: "Under his responsibility, billions of euros in taxpayers' money were squandered, money that is now missing from schools, hospitals, and affordable housing." Now, he said, "Spahn's double standards are once again on display." FDP chairman Wolfgang Kubicki spoke of "another moral low point for the CDU" and added: "It is a shame that Jens Spahn did not explain that he has changed his position on surrogacy based on his own experience."

Calls for resignation also multiplied within the CDU itself. The high point came on Friday with Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's CDU chief Daniel Peters, who demanded Spahn's resignation in the "Bild" newspaper. CDU state secretary in Schleswig-Holstein, Lukas Kilian, welcomed the resignation as "the only right step." Cornelia Schmachtenberg, state chairwoman of the Women's Union, regarded the resignation as "right and consistent" and emphasized: "Such an office also entails a role-model function." Sebastian Lechner, CDU group chairman in the Lower Saxony state parliament, told NDR that Spahn had "significantly set in motion important reform projects for Germany."

Spahn himself had repeatedly spoken out against surrogacy in the past. In 2015, he stated in "GQ" magazine: "As a gay man and a Christian, I can personally only find it very difficult to come to terms with the idea of a rented surrogate womb." As Federal Minister of Health from 2018 to 2021, the Embryo Protection Act, which prohibits surrogacy in Germany, fell within his area of responsibility. In 2020, the ministry responded to a minor interpellation from the FDP group that no change was planned in the current legislative period; the purpose of the regulation lay "primarily in safeguarding the welfare of the child."

Impact on the NRW CDU

The pressure on Spahn had steadily grown in recent days. He had only informed close companions and party colleagues at short notice around the time of the child's birth. The fact that he traveled privately to the USA to circumvent the German ban outraged many. CDU interior politician Wolfgang Bosbach said on Deutschlandfunk that it was "highly problematic" if the impression arose that different rules applied to politicians. "If he has changed his political position on surrogacy, he should explain that openly," Green politician Gebel urged, also warning that pregnancy and childbirth must not "become services that primarily the wealthy can buy."

North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister-President Hendrik Wüst spoke of "great tragedy" and a "political friendship." Behind the scenes, concern was growing in the NRW CDU: with state elections due in April 2027, the CDU in the Rhineland and Ruhr regions can ill afford negative headlines and debates about the moral integrity of its top personnel. Spahn is considered one of the most important minds of the NRW CDU in Berlin.

Spahn has served in the Bundestag since 2002 and was elected group chairman in May 2025. Before that, he served as the group's parliamentary managing director from 2021 to 2025. Spahn has been an elected member of the CDU Presidium since 2014; since the last Presidium election, he was only a member by virtue of his office as group chairman. "Procedures and timetable will now be coordinated with the party and group committees," the CDU said. The CDU Presidium is set to deliberate on Monday. On Sunday, Chancellor Merz is to appear on ZDF's "Sommerinterview." The first regular group meeting after the summer break would not be until September 8.

Open Questions and Next Steps

Spahn had already attracted negative headlines in the past. During the COVID period, as health minister he purchased masks for 5.9 billion euros — at far too high a price, according to the criticism of many observers. In October 2020, Spahn called on television for people to avoid contacts, but just a few hours later attended a fundraising dinner to raise money for the CDU. Die Linke chairwoman Pantisano wrote, with reference to the mask affair, that Spahn's responsibility for the mask deals and an "opaque financing of his luxury villa" had already made him "untenable" as group chairman.

A commission appointed by the then "traffic light coalition" in March 2023 concluded that legalization of egg donation would be constitutionally possible. The political debate on surrogacy is therefore not closed. Spahn himself stated: "I personally consider it problematic for good reasons." The opposition described the resignation as "overdue" and denounced the CDU politician's "double standards." What is clear is that with the resignation, the Union group is losing its chairman in the middle of the summer break — and in the middle of an already charged debate about morality and credibility in politics.