WASHINGTON (Reuters) -At least three U.S. lawmakers said on Tuesday healthcare providers were blocked from the Medicaid payment portal after the Trump administration announced a federal funding pause, even as the White House said the program was exempted.

President Donald Trump‘s administration sought to tamp down confusion over Medicaid funding in the wake of Office of Management and Budget director Matthew Vaeth’s memorandum pausing federal grant funding.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Social Security, Medicare and food stamps would not be affected by the decision to freeze federal aid. NBC News’ Sahil Kapur reports on the Trump administration’s first White House press briefing and whether Medicaid could be among the programs affected.