Theresa May was attempting to shore up her position in Number 10 by completing her Cabinet after a humiliating showing in the General Election left her authority as Prime Minister weakened.
Mrs May had limited room for manoeuvre after her presidential-style campaign saw the Tories shed seats and fall eight MPs short of a Commons majority.
The Prime Minister has made clear she wants support from her "friends and allies" in Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party to secure her minority administration ahead of the Queen's Speech on June 19 with talks expected within days.
But criticism within the Tory ranks continued, focusing on the way Mrs May had worked as premier and party leader and the influence of her inner circle.
The damage to Mrs May's standing makes it less likely she will risk alienating colleagues by carrying out an extensive reshuffle as she cannot afford to have disgruntled former ministers sniping at her from the backbenches.
After speculation the PM would use a solid win in the election to move Philip Hammond from the Treasury, he and other potential successors as Tory leader, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Amber Rudd, remained in place.
With Brexit Secretary David Davis and Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon also staying put, there were suggestions changes could just centre on replacing the eight ministers who lost their seats as the Tory Commons tally fell to 318.
There was also unease within the party about the link-up with the DUP, which strongly opposes same-sex marriage and abortion.
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said she had demanded a "categoric assurance" that gay rights would not be affected by a deal with the DUP, which strongly opposes marriage equality.
Ms Davidson, who became engaged to partner Jen Wilson in May 2016, told the BBC: "I was fairly straightforward with her (Mrs May) and I told her that there were a number of things that count to me more than the party.
"One of them is country, one of the others is LGBTI rights.
"I asked for a categoric assurance that if any deal or scoping deal was done with the DUP there would be absolutely no rescission of LGBTI rights in the rest of the UK, in Great Britain, and that we would use any influence that we had to advance LGBTI rights in Northern Ireland."
Tory MP Tom Tugendhat said: "I joined a party that introduced equal marriage, backs civil rights and defends freedom of faith. Those principles won't be compromised."
With talks between the Tories and the DUP expected to begin within days, Sinn Fein's Alex Maskey expressed concern about the impact of any deal on the political process in Northern Ireland, with the power-sharing administration currently suspended.
He told BBC Newsnight: "I think this current arrangement may well prove to be reckless, but we will have to wait and see.
"We will expect the British government to honour their commitments in respect of the Good Friday Agreement. And that means they have to remain neutral. We will watch what's happening very carefully."
Former minister Anna Soubry called on Mrs May to sack her joint chiefs of staff, Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy, after she complained about their central roles in the campaign.
Mrs May's former communications chief Katie Perrior, who left Downing Street when the election was called, hit out at their "rude, abusive, childish behaviour".
Writing in The Times she said: "Mrs May condoned their behaviour and turned a blind eye or didn't understand how destructive they both were."
Amid reports that senior Tories were sounding out potential replacements for Mrs May, prominent Conservative MP Heidi Allen said the Prime Minister had six months at most left in Downing Street.
But Transport Secretary Chris Grayling sprang to Mrs May's defence, insisting she needed to stay in office for the national interest and former leader Lord Hague said the situation did not warrant a leadership contest.
Mr Grayling told BBC Question Time: "Not only must she not resign, she has to not resign in the interest of the country because we need to move forward, we have got to go into the Brexit negotiations."
Asked if Mrs May should lead the Tories into the next election, Mr Grayling said: "The next election is a question for her. My view is we need her to stay as Prime Minister and stay as Prime Minister for the foreseeable future."
Lord Hague, writing in the Daily Telegraph, said: "Voters do not want further months of uncertainty and upheaval."
The strong showing for Labour in the election was capped when the party snatched the final seat to declare, Kensington, by just 20 votes late on Friday.
The win took Labour's tally to 262 MPs as Jeremy Corbyn's party soared to a 40% share of the popular vote.