Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced the appointment of Steffen Bilger as the new Transport Minister, completing a cabinet reshuffle triggered by a scandal involving a senior party member’s resignation. Bilger, 47, from Merz's conservative CDU party, is set to formally take over from Patrick Schnieder, who had remained in the role for several days amid uncertainty.

The reshuffle began last week when Jens Spahn, chairman of the CDU parliamentary group, resigned following controversy over his decision to employ a surrogate mother to have a child. Spahn will be succeeded by Thorsten Frei, Merz's chief of staff. Frei’s parliamentary group position will then be filled by current Health Minister Nina Warken, while CDU general secretary Carsten Linnemann will take over as health minister.

Merz had reportedly planned to dismiss Schnieder earlier, but his initial candidate to replace the transport minister withdrew at the last moment, leaving Schnieder in place temporarily. Schnieder eventually requested to be relieved of his duties on Sunday. Merz expressed regret over the disruption caused by the protracted dismissal process and indicated that he holds no personal issues with Schnieder.

Schnieder faced prolonged criticism for his management of Germany’s transport sector, particularly regarding the lack of progress in overhauling the country's rail infrastructure. These challenges persisted despite Germany loosening its traditional reluctance to debt in order to finance increased defence and infrastructure spending, amounting to hundreds of billions of euros.

Looking ahead, Merz emphasized his expectations for Bilger to justify the substantial borrowing through efficient execution of transport and infrastructure projects, including rail and road improvements. The cabinet changes reflect Merz’s broader efforts to stabilize his administration and advance key infrastructure initiatives amid political turbulence within the ruling party.