Trump repeatedly praised several other members of his Cabinet, but did not mention that he would nominate Waltz for the United Nations ambassadorship. Rumors swirled Thursday morning that Waltz and deputy national security adviser Alex Wong were getting the boot from the National Security Council.

“I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after the event concluded.

“In the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as National Security Advisor, while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department,” Trump continued. “Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN.”

The departure adds another title to Rubio’s busy portfolio.

In addition to the State Department and the NSC, Rubio is also acting administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development and acting archivist of the United States.

Waltz’s exit marks the first major change in the Cabinet since Trump was sworn into office for a second time in January.

However, during the Rose Garden event, Trump displayed smiles and unity among the rest of his Cabinet.

The president heaped praise on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has been embattled since it was reported that he included sensitive military plans in two separate Signal group chats.

Waltz was widely lampooned for accidentally adding the editor in chief of the Atlantic to the Signal group that included plans of a military attack against Yemen.

“Thanks as well to the great people that are here. Pete Hegseth, who’s doing a fantastic job. Pete, thank you,” Trump said.

Trump then teased Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who was tasked with negotiating 90 separate trade deals in 90 days after the president paused his “Liberation Day” tariffs.

“Scott Bessent, he’s got a very easy job now. He’s negotiating with about 200 countries,” said Trump. “Can you handle it? You get to sleep at all? He’s got phone calls coming in.”

The president also teased U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer, who is also dealing with tariff negotiations. “Another busy one, huh? Jamieson good,” Trump said. “And another one who’s negotiating along with Scott and Jameson. He’s negotiating all the time. He doesn’t want to talk about it. He can’t. He has no life. Howard Lutnick, commerce [secretary].”

“Attorney General Pam Bondi, she’s slightly busy. She’s on the busy side,” Trump continued. “She’s got every form of crime known to mankind and womankind, too. You always have to say that as a politician, but she’s doing incredible work.”

The president also praised Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, and Administrator of the Small Business Administration Kelly Loeffler.

Before Trump signed an executive order establishing the Religious Liberty Commission, Trump called on his Cabinet to join him onstage with several faith leaders. It was another display of Trump’s support for his Cabinet.

The prayer event also included guests such as talk-show host Phil McGraw, who addressed the audience after Trump implored him to come onstage.

“Mr. President, I can’t tell you, first off, how proud I am to see religion coming back to the White House. God bless you,” McGraw said. “God bless you for doing this. And let me tell you, it’s not a popular thing to do in America right now.”

“I’ve sat with President Trump with no cameras around, nobody listening, nobody watching,” McGraw continued. “And I’m telling you, this is a man of deep faith, a man of deep conviction, and this is a man that wants this country to have a heart and have religion.”

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R-TX), who attended the event and will serve on the Commission along with McGraw, also lavished praise on Trump.

“There has never been a president who has invoked the name of Jesus more than you,” said Patrick.

The event also took a turn into more wide-ranging events, with Trump reflecting on the animal kingdom in comparison to humankind, foreign dictators, the war between Ukraine and Russia, and Israel’s battle against Hamas.

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“They say the lions and the tigers aren’t nearly as vicious as the human because they only kill for food,” Trump said. “The human being kills for sport. They try and destroy people, killing or otherwise, for sport.”

“And we’ve got some bad ones out there, really bad ones. We have some bad ones here,” Trump continued, reflecting on the Israeli hostages kidnapped under former President Joe Biden. “We have some bad ones in this government, but we picked good ones. But we had some bad ones in the last four years.”