It is still unclear which programs could be affected by the executive order. Despite Schumer's statement, Trump does have an avenue to advance his goal

“And within two days, in one of the first executive orders, they pull the rug out from under what we did,” Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer ... for lower Medicare drug prices.

While the administration insists the funding freeze does not apply to direct payments like Social Security and Medicaid, SNAP benefits are in a gray area. Experts interpret the ambiguous language in the memo as potentially impacting programs administered through state and local governments.

Democratic congressman Bennie Thompson shares his thoughts on funding for federal aid being halted

President Trump’s sweeping order to freeze federal funding has caused confusion, huge concern for its recipients, and fury among his political opponents. Senior Democrat Chuck Schumer said the blast radius of the decision was virtually limitless.

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — The Trump administration is defending their decision to freeze federal aid. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says Social Security, Medicare and SNAP are not impacted. “It is the responsibility of this president and this administration to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” Leavitt said.

A federal judge has temporarily halted the Trump administration's freeze on federal grants and loans, minutes before the wide-reaching directive was set to go into effect.

WASHINGTON : President Donald Trump’s White House ordered a pause in all federal grants and loans starting today, a sweeping decision that could disrupt education and healthcare programmes, housing assistance, disaster relief and a host of other initiatives that depend on billions of federal dollars.

The Trump administration will temporarily stop payments on multiple federal programs Tuesday evening, cutting off Americans who rely on what could be trillions in funding and setting off a legal

The White House confirmed that OMB pulled the memo Wednesday in a two sentence notice sent to agencies and departments, but said that Trump’s underlying executive orders targeting federal spending in areas like diversity, equity and inclusion and climate change, remained in place.

President Donald Trump's order to pause all federal grants and loans sowed widespread confusion on Tuesday over its impact on far-reaching programs such as Medicaid, sending nonprofits and government agencies scrambling to understand its scope and prompting immediate legal challenges.