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America's top court has issued an urgent ruling that temporarily allows the Trump administration to withhold billions of dollars for nutrition assistance used by countless needy U.S. residents.

Administration officials sought relief from the country's highest court after a federal judge ordered that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, called food aid, should be paid out in full to beneficiaries by the end of the week.

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

Friday's ruling means $4bn can be held back for now until more court proceedings.

Programme Impact

The Snap programme is issued by tens of millions of U.S. citizens - approximately 12% - and costs almost $9bn a month.

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

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

Court Proceedings

This decision came after that ordered the administration to use contingency funds to at least partially fund the assistance for last month.

This court battle was triggered after the USDA, which manages the Snap programme, stated benefits would be halted in the fall due to the lack of funding over the shutdown.

Before the Supreme Court stepped in, the Agriculture Department 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 Ketanji Brown Jackson issued the order late Friday, called an temporary halt, effectively freezing the lower court's ruling for 48 hours while government lawyer's pursue an appeal.

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

Broader Impact

Government workers have been unpaid for more than a month and flight operations has been disrupted as Congress members cannot reach a deal to fund the government.

Several states have used their own financial reserves to keep food benefits flowing, which are valued at around $6 to recipients via pre-loaded debit cards which can be used in grocery stores.

However, certain states have said they are cannot cover the money which has been cut by the federal government.