Over the weekend, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., surprised some people on social media when he posted photos of himself and his grandchildren swimming in a polluted stream on X.
“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,” said a caption on the photos.
According to the National Parks Service, the park is “one of the most important designs by landscape architect Beatrix Farrand.”
Dumbarton Oaks Park and Rock Creek are also located in Washington D.C., where the Department of Energy & Environment says there is a “lengthy history of pollution and environmental degradation” that has caused swimming to be banned in the district’s rivers and streams for more than five decades. A “reader context” post added to Kennedy’s photos said that swimming in the area is dangerous.
This Monday, a report published in The New York Times noted that Rock Creek is used to drain excess sewage and storm water during rainfall, citing government data. It also noted that the creek is known to have widespread “fecal” contamination and high levels of bacteria, including E. coli.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Kennedy did not respond to a request for comment.
“It was the latest in a series of peculiar incidents related to Mr. Kennedy’s outdoorsman persona,” said the Times. Per the outlet, a spokesperson for Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment.
Audacy has also reported on these stories related to Kennedy’s “outdoorsman persona” in the past. These include a story about the former environmental lawyer cutting the head off of a dead whale and transporting it on the top of his family car and the story of Kennedy leaving a dead bear in Central Park. Kennedy has also claimed that a worm ate a portion of his brain and died after he contracted the parasite in Africa.
Kennedy was also a controversial pick for HHS secretary due to his stance on vaccines and autism. Audacy reported last month that he declared “by September we will know what has caused the autism epidemic.” He has already moved to change vaccine protocol and to eliminate certain dyes from food.