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America's top court has granted an urgent ruling that permits for now the federal government to delay billions in funding for nutrition assistance used by millions of low-income Americans.

The White House appealed to the country's highest court after a lower court ordered that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, called food stamps, should be distributed in full to recipients by Friday.

The programme has been caught in uncertainty by the ongoing federal government shutdown, with the Trump administration claiming it could only pay for part of it.

The court's decision means $4bn can be held back for now pending further legal hearings.

Programme Impact

The Snap programme is used by 42 million Americans - approximately 12% - and requires almost £6.9bn a each month.

On Thursday, a federal magistrate, the presiding judge, alleged the Trump administration of withholding food aid "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 fund the assistance completely.

Court Proceedings

This decision came after that ordered the government to use contingency funds to at least partially fund the programme for November.

This court battle was triggered after the US Department of Agriculture, which manages the Snap programme, announced payments would be halted in the fall due to the budget shortfall over the budget crisis.

Before the Supreme Court stepped in, the USDA said it was working to comply with the various court orders and was making efforts to doll out the full funds.

High Court's Move

High Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson granted the order late Friday, called an temporary halt, pausing the lower court's ruling for 48 hours while federal attorneys pursue an appeal.

This dispute over nutrition program money has become among the most contentious of what is now the longest government shutdown in US history.

Broader Impact

Federal employees have been without pay for more than a month and flight operations has been thrown into chaos as Democratic and Republican lawmakers fail to agree a compromise to pass a budget.

Several states have used their own financial reserves to keep food benefits flowing, which are valued at around six dollars to recipients via electronic benefit cards which can be used in grocery stores.

However, certain states have said they are unable to replace the money which has been cut by the federal government.