Hecklers interrupted a speech Thursday by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. at a conference on opioid addiction in Nashville.
The Rx and Illicit Drug Summit 2025 drew law enforcement officials, addiction prevention counselors, social workers and public health officers to the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center for the three-day event.
For years, Kennedy has drawn ire and disapproval for his anti-vaccine messages and, more recently, for belittling comments about people with autism and budget cuts in his department.
“Believe science!,” shouted a protester before security rushed him from the room.Another protester held aloft a sign that read, “Vaccines save lives.”
Kennedy’s speech was apolitical and focused on his own history in recovery from an addiction to heroin and his recommendations for dealing with the nation’s opioid crisis — many of which focused less on medical or treatment solutions and more on the need to build community, embrace spirituality and take personal responsibility.
After touting a $4 billion budget at HHS, Kennedy said that “money alone won’t fix this.”
“We have a whole generation of children who have lost faith in our country and their future,” Kennedy said. “Policy should reestablish hope for the future.”
Alexis Pleus of Binghamton, New York, and another woman unfurled a banner saying “Cuts Kill” before being ejected.
Pleus, who came to Nashville with other members of a group called Moms United to End the War on Drugs, lost her son to a drug overdose and said budget cuts at HHS spurred her attendance.
The Trump administration — and Kennedy — have proposed to restructure HHS, including dismantling the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), cutting research funding and funding for addiction treatment and mental health care.
“All these changes are impacting people on the ground,” Pleus said. “People who are struggling with addiction can’t get help already and now they’re going to have an even harder time.”
The conference was sponsored by HMP Global, which provides continuing medical education.
Past speakers have included former Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. President Donald Trump spoke to the group in 2019 during his first term in office.
In addition to Kennedy, 2025 speakers included U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Tennessee senior U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Dr. Ralph Alvarado, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health.
