A recent White House memo calling for a comprehensive halt on federal grants and loans by Tuesday 5 p.m. has resulted in confusion among regular Americans who rely on such assistance, as well as experienced budget professionals.

The directive to suspend federal funding was ambiguously stated, leading to uncertainty within federal aid programs, nonprofits and among Americans receiving government aid. Adding to the confusion, a federal judge on Tuesday temporarily halted the freeze as she examines arguments from the U.S. government and the plaintiffs in the case.

Tad DeHaven, a policy analyst specializing in economic and fiscal policy issues at the libertarian Cato Institute, questioned why such wide-ranging, unclear, and confusing directions would be issued if this was being carried out in accordance with the executive orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Wendy Edelberg, director of The Hamilton Project at Brookings, a liberal-leaning public policy research group, admitted she did not fully understand the directive, and suggested that even those in power might not understand it.

The memo from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clarified that Social Security and Medicare programs would be exempt from the halt in federal funding. An additional guidance released on Tuesday further clarified that “any program that provides direct benefits to Americans is explicitly excluded from the pause.”

Apart from Social Security and Medicare, mandatory programs like Medicaid and SNAP will continue without interruption, the updated guidance confirmed. The memo also stated that funds for small businesses, farmers, Pell grants, Head Start, rental assistance, and other similar programs are also exempt.

However, even if the order is more specifically tailored, it could still have significant financial consequences for the millions of Americans who receive federal assistance, experts warned.

The memo also provided guidance on who may be affected by the proposed pause in federal funding. It confirmed that the freeze does not apply to all federal financial assistance, and that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, better known as food stamps, are excluded.

However, the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program, a federal initiative that supports community-based senior nutrition programs like Meals on Wheels, could be affected by the proposed funding pause.

The memo also indicated that rental assistance and other similar programs will not be paused. Yet, the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) expressed concern that Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs could be affected by the freeze.

The OMB memo also stated that Head Start, a preschool program serving nearly 800,000 low-income children that receives federal health funds, is not affected by the funding pause.

Despite the updated guidance issued on Tuesday stating that programs including Medicaid are exempt from the pause, state Medicaid programs on Tuesday reported issues with the Department of Health and Human Services system used to track and disburse their money.

The federal funding freeze does not apply to student loans and Pell grants, according to the Department of Education. However, families and students are anxious that funds from programs they depend on will disappear under President Trump.

Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.

This article was written by Megan Cerullo, a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.