Jens Spahn stepped down as head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group on July 18, 2026, following intense internal party pressure over his use of a surrogate mother in the United States. Spahn and his husband, Daniel Funke, recently became parents to a son, Georg, through the arrangement — a move that clashed with the Christian Democratic Union's reaffirmed ban on surrogacy at its federal party conference.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on Spahn to resign after consulting CDU state leaders, several of whom had publicly demanded his departure. The backlash was amplified by grassroots CDU members organizing through internal chat groups.
Merz aims to settle the succession before his summer break at the end of July. Chancellery Chief of Staff Thorsten Frei is considered the frontrunner, with Carsten Linnemann and Alexander Dobrindt also in contention. Deputy group leader Alexander Hoffmann has assumed interim duties.