The Trump Administration’s attempt to clarify its freeze on federal assistance has opened new questions about funding to children, which already has faltered under the chaos created by the order.

In an unsigned memo, the Trump Administration said that Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), better known as food stamps, will be exempt. But when asked during a press conference whether that meant no individual receiving Medicaid would lose benefits, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said she could not confirm. The original memo from the Office of Management and Budget included Medicaid, SNAP, and Head Start among the programs subject to the freeze. Leavitt said OMB would release a new list. 

Meanwhile, all 50 states have been shut out of their Medicaid payment systems.

“The uncertainty is the point here, obviously,” said First Focus on Children President Bruce Lesley. “Families across the country are wondering whether their child’s preschool is open, whether they can take their child to the doctor, or whether school meals are still available. The Administration has injected fear and despair into families who depend on services — which, by the way, they’ve paid for with their taxes — to care for their children.”

Without confirmation of which specific programs will be affected, First Focus on Children estimates that the directive to freeze all federal loans, grants and assistance could endanger more than $300 billion in children’s programming  — or an average of $4,500 per child — in aid to children for food, homelessness, health care, child care and myriad other issues.

The immediate cessation of federal aid could prevent more than $329 billion from reaching children, according to calculations by First Focus on Children based on Children’s Budget 2024, with billions coming out of health care, food stamps, public schools, vaccines and school lunch. The chart below represents the total amount of money going to kids that would be on the chopping block over the course of the fiscal year if these programs were eliminated or if the money were never issued, based on cross-referencing the Children’s Budget 2024.

“We call on Congress to demand that the Administration follow the Constitution and the law and rescind this illegal order,” Lesley said.

Because Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations are not finalized, estimates are based on expenditures from FY 2024