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America's top court has granted an emergency order that permits for now the federal government to withhold billions of dollars for food benefits used by millions of low-income Americans.

Administration officials appealed to the country's highest court after a federal judge ruled that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, called food aid, should be distributed in full to beneficiaries by the end of the week.

The programme has been left in limbo by the ongoing federal government shutdown, with the Trump administration arguing it could only afford to partially fund it.

The court's decision means £3.04bn can be held back for now pending further legal hearings.

Programme Impact

This nutrition aid is issued by tens of millions of U.S. citizens - around one in eight - and costs almost $9bn a month.

Earlier this week, a Rhode Island judge, the presiding judge, accused the Trump administration of withholding food aid "due to political motives" and said that without the aid "16 million children are in danger of facing hunger".

The judge mandated the government to pay out the assistance in full.

Legal Background

The Thursday ruling followed another that ordered the administration to dip into contingency funds to at least partially fund the programme for November.

This court battle was spurred after the US Department of Agriculture, which manages the Snap programme, stated benefits would be halted in the fall due to the lack of funding over the budget crisis.

Before the Supreme Court stepped in, the Agriculture Department said it was working to comply with the various court orders and was taking steps to distribute the complete amount.

Supreme Court Action

Supreme Court Justice Justice Jackson granted the stay late Friday, called an temporary halt, effectively freezing the lower court's ruling for 48 hours while government lawyer's seek to overturn it.

The row over nutrition program money has become among the most contentious of what is now the lengthiest budget standoff in US history.

Broader Impact

Government workers have been unpaid for over 30 days and air travel has been disrupted as Congress members cannot reach a compromise to fund the government.

Some states have used their own financial reserves to keep Snap payments flowing, which are worth around $6 to users via electronic benefit cards which can be used in food markets.

However, certain states have said they are cannot cover the funding which has been lost from the federal government.