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America's top court has granted an urgent ruling that permits for now the Trump administration to delay billions in funding for nutrition assistance used by countless needy U.S. residents.

The White House appealed to the country's highest court after a federal judge ordered that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food aid, should be distributed in full to recipients by Friday.

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 £3.04bn can be held back for now pending further legal hearings.

Programme Impact

This nutrition aid is issued by 42 million Americans - approximately 12% - and costs almost $9bn a each month.

On Thursday, a Rhode Island judge, the presiding judge, alleged the government of withholding food aid "due to political motives" and said that without the aid "millions of kids are in danger of going hungry".

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

Legal Background

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

This court battle was triggered after the USDA, which manages the food stamp program, stated benefits would be stopped in the fall due to the lack of funding over the budget crisis.

Prior to the high court's action, the USDA said it was attempting to follow with the various court orders and was taking steps to distribute the full funds.

High Court's Move

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued the order late Friday, known as an temporary halt, pausing the lower court's ruling for 48 hours while government lawyer's pursue an appeal.

The row over food aid funding has become one of the bitterest of what is now the longest government shutdown in US history.

Wider Effects

Government workers have been without pay for over 30 days and air travel has been disrupted as Congress members cannot reach a compromise to pass a budget.

Several states have drawn on their own financial reserves to keep Snap payments going, which are valued at around $6 to users via pre-loaded debit 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.