The Highest Court Rules Complete Snap Food Aid Can Be Temporarily Halted.

The US Supreme Court has issued an urgent ruling that temporarily allows the federal government to withhold billions in funding for food benefits relied on by countless needy U.S. residents.

The White House appealed to the Supreme Court after a lower court ordered that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food aid, should be paid out in full to recipients by the end of the week.

The programme has been left in limbo by the continuing budget impasse, with the Trump administration claiming it could only pay for part of it.

The court's decision means $4bn can be temporarily withheld until more court proceedings.

SNAP's Reach

The Snap programme is used by 42 million Americans - around one in eight - and requires almost £6.9bn a each month.

On Thursday, a Rhode Island judge, the presiding judge, accused the Trump administration of blocking nutrition funds "due to political motives" and said that without the aid "16 million children are in danger of going hungry".

The judge mandated the government to fund the programme in full.

Legal Background

This decision came after that ordered the government to dip into contingency funds to at least partly pay for the programme for last month.

This court battle was triggered after the US Department of Agriculture, which oversees the food stamp program, stated payments would be stopped in the fall due to the budget shortfall over the budget crisis.

Before the Supreme Court stepped in, the USDA said it was attempting to follow with the multiple rulings and was making efforts to distribute the full funds.

High Court's Move

Supreme Court Justice Justice Jackson issued the order late Friday, called an administrative stay, pausing the previous decision for two days while government lawyer's seek to overturn it.

This dispute over nutrition program money has become one of the bitterest of what is now the lengthiest budget standoff in American history.

Broader Impact

Government workers 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 compromise to pass a budget.

Some states have used their own financial reserves to keep Snap payments going, which are valued at around $6 to recipients via pre-loaded debit cards which can be redeemed in food markets.

But some states have said they are unable to replace the funding which has been lost from the federal government.