Hi there. Welcome to Meet the Press. Now I'm Ryan Nobles on a chaotic day here in Washington.

After a White House memo announced to an abrupt freeze on federal grants, creating panic and confusion in state houses,

nonprofits, some welfare programs, and universities, while also sparking concerns that the president

was violating the law. And a two-page memo issued late yesterday, the Office of Management and Budget

ordered all federal agencies to, quote, temporarily pause all

activities related to obligation or disembursment of all federal financial assistance

effective at 5 o'clock today. It noted some exceptions like Social Security and Medicare,

but it was vague about a litany of other government programs, including Medicaid.

Amid the scramble for clarity, NBC News obtained an 836-page spreadsheet sent by the White House

to federal agencies asking for details about the financial assistance that they provide for a wide

variety of programs and welfare benefits.

It included SNAP, commonly referred to as food stamps, as well as federal Pell Grant programs, subsidized school breakfast, and lunch programs, and the supplemental nutritional

program for women, infants, and children.

Now, initial indications were that this could be a massive and disruptive freeze,

potentially affecting trillions of dollars in spending that had been legally appropriated by Congress.

But this afternoon, the White House tried to clarify.

And her first White House press briefing, press secretary Caroline Levitt, citing a new memo from the Office of Management and Budget

that said this is not an across-the-board freeze on federal financial assistance

and that it applies to a significantly more narrow scope of government aid and presidential

priorities.

Social Security benefits, Medicare benefits, food stamps, welfare benefits, assistance that is going directly to individuals will not be impacted by this pause.

So what does this pause mean? It means no more funding for illegal DEI programs.

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