Kennedy, Jr. decided it was a good idea to spend the weekend swimming (and take his grandchildren for a dip) in Rock Creek, a not-safe-for-swimming-or-wading body of water in Washington, D.C.The Health and Human Services secretary posted photos of himself dunking his entire head underwater in waters that are known to contain high levels of bacteria,

A microbial source tracking report published in 2022 by the D.C. government said that ambient water monitoring for Rock Creek showed "chronic elevated levels" of E.coli.