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America's top court has issued 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.

Administration officials sought relief from the country's highest court after a federal judge ruled that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food aid, should be paid out completely to beneficiaries by Friday.

This assistance 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 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 $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 "millions of kids are in danger of facing hunger".

He ordered the government to pay out the programme completely.

Legal Background

This decision followed another that ordered the administration to dip into reserve money to at least partially fund the programme for November.

This court battle was spurred after the US Department of Agriculture, which oversees the food stamp program, announced benefits would be halted in November due to the lack of funding over the budget crisis.

Before the Supreme Court stepped in, the USDA said it was attempting to follow with the various court orders and was taking steps to distribute the full funds.

Supreme Court Action

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued the stay on Friday evening, known as an administrative stay, pausing the lower court's ruling for 48 hours while federal attorneys seek to overturn it.

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

Broader Impact

Federal employees have been unpaid for over 30 days and flight operations has been disrupted as Democratic and Republican lawmakers cannot reach a compromise to fund the government.

Some states have used their own budget savings to keep food benefits flowing, which are valued at around $6 to users via pre-loaded debit cards which can be used in food markets.

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