Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gave the phrase “up s–t creek” a whole new meaning over the weekend after taking a dip in a contaminated waterway with his grandkids.
The Department of Health and Human Services secretary posted shirtless snapshots of himself alongside several young family members in Washington D.C.’s Rock Creek, part of an apparent Mother’s Day trip.
“Mother’s Day hike in Dumbarton Oaks Park with Amaryllis, Bobby, Kick, and Jackson, and a swim with my grandchildren, Bobcat and Cassius in Rock Creek,” the 71-year-old posted to X on Sunday.
Kennedy is seen fully submerged under the water and splashing around with his grandchildren in the series of pics.
The only problem? The water in Rock Creek has been deemed “a hazard to human (and pet) health” by the National Park Service due to “high levels of bacteria and other infectious pathogens.”
“Rock Creek has high levels of bacteria and other infectious pathogens that make swimming, wading, and other contact with the water a hazard to human (and pet) health. Please protect yourself and your pooches by staying on trails and out of the creek. All District waterways are subject to a swim ban – this means wading, too,” a warning from the Park Service notes.
“Swimming and wading are not allowed due to high bacteria levels,” it adds. “Stay out of the water to protect streambanks, plants and animals and keep you and your family (including pets!) safe from illness.”
One 2021 report concerning Rock Creek cites “high E. coli values, indicating sewage pollution, often several times above the standard,” which “persist in both dry and wet weather.”
Swimming in D.C.’s waterways have been mostly banned for decades due to the city’s archaic sewage system, The Hill reports. According to the 2021 report: “these high E. coli levels likely stem from leaking antiquated sewers that have long since passed their useful life.”
It’s unclear if Kennedy was aware of the warnings about Rock Creek, but The Hill reports several signs are posted in the area that warn of the danger.
Kennedy has not shied from controversy in the past.
There was the time he decapitated a dead whale and took it home, as well as a bizarre admission that he once dumped the body of a dead bear cub in Central Park.
Then, there was the dark spot on his brain that turned out to be a dead worm.
HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
