Overview
- Several outlets report that Jens Spahn missed a key Haushaltsausschuss meeting during the parliamentary week, with sources saying his office cited a sick child as the reason and that a substitute was arranged.
- Bild published a photo showing Spahn with his baby at Olbia airport in Sardinia while the meeting took place and then removed the article, saying the image was taken in a private setting and violated the paper’s rules.
- The CDU/CSU Arbeitsgruppe Haushalt held an extraordinary session in which ARD reported a majority backed removing Spahn from the powerful budget committee, but party leadership intervened to avoid an open rupture.
- Thorsten Frei pushed for a limited solution and the faction agreed to let Spahn keep his seat on a probationary basis through December, meaning any further questionable absences could trigger removal.
- The affair has deepened complaints inside the Union about perceived special treatment and double standards, and it raises short‑term reputational risks for the party given the Haushaltsausschuss’s influence and the recent surrogacy controversy that already damaged Spahn’s standing.