After resigning, Jens Spahn will become a member of the Bundestag's budget committee

Former CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn will become a member of the budget committee after his resignation in connection with the surrogate mother affair. This was confirmed by a spokeswoman for the Union faction.

The Budget Committee is one of the most important committees in the Bundestag because it advises on state spending. According to information from Union circles, Spahn will apparently become a rapporteur for the Foreign Ministry's budget.

The 46-year-old resigned as parliamentary group leader in July after he was heavily criticized for his fatherhood with the help of a surrogate mother in the USA. Surrogacy means that a woman carries a child for someone else - usually for a fee. In Germany, only doctors who facilitate surrogacy are liable to prosecution. The surrogate mother and the intended parents themselves will not be prosecuted. However, surrogacy is legal in various other countries, for example in several US states or in Ukraine. That's why some German couples move abroad.

Spahn was particularly criticized for having spoken out against surrogacy several times in the past. In 2015, as the health policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group at the time, he told GQ magazine: "As a gay man and Christian, I personally find it very difficult to get used to the idea of ​​a rented womb." Even as Federal Health Minister, he rejected the FDP's demand for partial legalization of surrogacy in 2020.

Spahn's resignation led to changes in the cabinet

When it became known that Spahn had become a father with the help of a surrogate mother, he was accused of contradicting his previous political stance. Critics also complained that, as chairman of the Union parliamentary group, he had a special political role model. The criticism also came from within our own ranks. Many party friends as well as Chancellor and CDU leader Friedrich Merz ultimately called for his resignation as parliamentary group leader.

After his resignation, Thorsten Frei took over the chairmanship of the Union faction. At the same time, there were further changes in the CDU, in the cabinet and in the parliamentary group. It was initially unclear whether Spahn would continue his political career.

It is now clear that Spahn wants to keep his Bundestag mandate. CSU leader Markus Söder had already said when the parliamentary group was reorganized in July that Spahn's political career was not yet over. A politician “with such talents and such political power” will at some point take on a leading role again.

For Spahn, the focus is now on the budget committee. The MPs will return next week after the parliamentary summer break, at the same time as budget week begins in the Bundestag.

*** Correction note: In the teaser we corrected that Jens Spahn was previously parliamentary group leader of the Union. ***