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America's top court has issued an emergency order that temporarily allows the federal government to withhold billions of dollars for food benefits relied on by millions of low-income Americans.

Administration officials appealed to the country's highest court after a federal judge ordered that the SNAP program, also known as food stamps, should be distributed in full to beneficiaries by the end of the week.

This assistance has been caught in uncertainty by the ongoing federal government shutdown, with the Trump administration claiming it could only afford to partially fund it.

Friday's ruling means £3.04bn can be held back for now pending further legal hearings.

Programme Impact

This nutrition aid is used by tens of millions of U.S. citizens - approximately 12% - and requires almost £6.9bn a month.

On Thursday, a Rhode Island judge, John McConnell, accused the government of blocking nutrition funds "due to political motives" and said that without the aid "millions of kids are in danger of facing hunger".

The judge mandated the administration to pay out the assistance completely.

Court Proceedings

The Thursday ruling followed another that required the administration to dip into reserve money to at least partly pay for the programme for last month.

The legal saga was spurred after the US Department of Agriculture, which oversees the food stamp program, stated payments would be halted in the fall due to the budget shortfall over the shutdown.

Prior to the high court's action, the USDA said it was working to comply with the multiple rulings and was making efforts to doll out the full funds.

Supreme Court Action

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson granted the order late Friday, called an temporary halt, pausing the lower court's ruling for two days while federal attorneys seek to overturn it.

This dispute over food aid funding has become among the most contentious of what is now the longest government shutdown in American history.

Broader Impact

Federal employees have been unpaid for more than a month and air travel has been thrown into chaos as Democratic and Republican lawmakers fail to agree a deal to pass a budget.

Several states have used their own budget savings to keep food benefits going, which are worth around $6 to recipients via electronic benefit cards which can be used in grocery stores.

But some states have said they are cannot cover the funding which has been cut by the U.S. treasury.