Story highlights Trump's first full Cabinet meeting was Monday

It's not the typical way presidents have convened the top members

Washington (CNN) The first meeting of President Donald Trump's full Cabinet evolved into an unusual tribute session Monday as heads of his executive branch agencies hailed the opening five months of Trump's administration while the President himself listened on closely.

It's not the typical way presidents have convened the top members of their governments. Usually, a Cabinet meeting begins with short remarks from the President before more detailed talks among the group behind closed doors.

Instead, Trump opened with a lengthy statement touting his own work before having each Cabinet secretary provide their own assessment of the administration's progress so far.

What resulted were rapid-fire plaudits from the nation's top government officials.

"I think we've been about as active as you can possibly be and at a just about record-setting pace," Trump said, even though he has no significant legislative achievements and some of his top agenda items are stalled in the courts.