Upon leaving office on 21 November 2007, he was replaced as Vice-Chancellor by Frank-Walter Steinmeier and as Minister of Labor by Olaf Scholz, both of whom are also members of the SPD.
När han avgick den 21 november 2007 ersattes han som vicekansler av Frank-Walter Steinmeier och som arbetsmarknadsminister av Olaf Scholz, som båda var SPD-medlemmar.