Driver of White House press pool van in Florida detained for having a gun

Jessica Estepa | USA TODAY

When you're on White House pool duty in Florida, much of the daily reporting on the president's activities involves waiting in vans while President Trump goes between Mar-a-Lago and his golf course.

But Monday morning proved to be more eventful, when the driver of a van used for White House pool duty was detained for having a gun in his baggage.

The driver, who was not identified by name, told the Secret Service he had forgotten to leave the firearm in his personal vehicle, according to pool reports.

The Secret Service said the driver had lawful possession of the firearm.

The screening took place about an hour before the vans would have joined the presidential motorcade when it left Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Fla.

The White House said all drivers were replaced after the incident. Instead, a White House staffer drove the van.

"At no time was any Secret Service protectee in danger or impacted," the Secret Service said in a statement. "All Secret Service security measures worked.”

The incident took place five days after a shooter in Parkland, Fla., killed 17 people at a high school. President Trump met with victims and first responders on Friday.

Trump is open to the idea of improving federal background checks on gun purchasers who may be mentally unstable in the wake of the shooting, his spokeswoman said Monday.