World
Germany: Jens Spahn, CDU/CSU group leader, resigns after surrogacy revelation
Jens Spahn, leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the German Bundestag, resigned on July 18, 2026, following revelations that he and his husband had a child through surrogacy in the United States. Surrogacy is prohibited in Germany, and the CDU/CSU group itself had voted in February 2026 to maintain this ban. Party members called for his resignation; the opposition accused him of hypocrisy. Chancellor Friedrich Merz deemed the decision "just and inevitable."