President Trump told reporters that they were allowed to stay for his prayer with Cabinet secretaries on Wednesday because “you need it more than I do.”

“You need the prayer more than I do, I think. You may be the only ones,” he said, to laughter from the Cabinet.

“We thank you for the president and for Cabinet members who are courageous, who are willing to face the winds of controversy in order to provide a better future for those who come behind us,” Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said in the prayer.

“We’re thankful for the unity in Congress that has presented an opportunity for our economy to expand so we can fight the coercive debt that has been destroying our future. And we hope that unity will expand beyond party lines,” he added.