Supreme Court Rules Complete Snap Food Aid Can Be Put on Hold.

The US Supreme Court has issued an emergency order that temporarily allows the Trump administration to delay billions in funding for nutrition assistance used by countless needy U.S. residents.

Administration officials sought relief from the Supreme Court after a federal judge ordered that the SNAP program, also known as food stamps, should be paid out in full to beneficiaries by Friday.

The programme has been caught in uncertainty by the ongoing federal government shutdown, with the government claiming it could only afford to partially fund it.

Friday's ruling means $4bn can be temporarily withheld until more court proceedings.

SNAP's Reach

The Snap programme is issued by tens of millions of U.S. citizens - approximately 12% - and costs almost £6.9bn a month.

Earlier this week, a Rhode Island judge, John McConnell, alleged the Trump administration of blocking nutrition funds "due to political motives" and said that without the aid "16 million children are in danger of facing hunger".

He ordered the administration to pay out the programme in full.

Court Proceedings

The Thursday ruling followed another that required the administration to dip into contingency funds to at least partly pay for the assistance for November.

The legal saga was spurred after the USDA, which oversees the food stamp program, stated benefits would be halted in November due to the budget shortfall over the shutdown.

Before the Supreme Court stepped in, the USDA said it was working to comply with the multiple rulings and was taking steps to doll out the complete amount.

Supreme Court Action

High Court Judge Justice Jackson issued the order late Friday, called an administrative stay, effectively freezing the previous decision for 48 hours while government lawyer's seek to overturn it.

This dispute over food aid funding has become among the most contentious of what is now the lengthiest budget standoff in American history.

Wider Effects

Federal employees have been unpaid for over 30 days and flight operations has been disrupted as Democratic and Republican lawmakers fail to agree a compromise to pass a budget.

Some states have used their own budget savings to keep food benefits flowing, which are valued at around six dollars 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.