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America's top court has issued an emergency order that temporarily allows the Trump administration to delay billions of dollars for nutrition assistance used by millions of low-income Americans.

Administration officials appealed to the Supreme Court after a lower court ordered that the SNAP program, also known as food stamps, should be distributed completely to beneficiaries by Friday.

This assistance has been caught in uncertainty by the ongoing federal government shutdown, with the Trump administration arguing it could only afford to partially fund it.

Friday's ruling means $4bn can be temporarily withheld pending further legal hearings.

Programme Impact

The Snap programme is used by 42 million Americans - around one in eight - and costs almost $9bn a month.

On Thursday, a Rhode Island judge, the presiding judge, accused the Trump administration of blocking nutrition funds "for political reasons" and said that without the aid "16 million children are immediately at risk of facing hunger".

The judge mandated the administration to pay out the programme completely.

Court Proceedings

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

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

Prior to the high court's action, the Agriculture Department said it was attempting to follow with the various court orders and was making efforts to doll out the complete amount.

High Court's Move

Supreme Court Justice Justice Jackson issued the order on Friday evening, called an administrative stay, pausing the previous decision for 48 hours while federal attorneys pursue an appeal.

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

Wider Effects

Government workers have been without pay for more than a month and flight operations has been thrown into chaos as Congress members cannot reach a compromise to pass a budget.

Some states have used their own budget savings to keep Snap payments flowing, which are valued at around $6 to users via pre-loaded debit cards which can be redeemed in grocery stores.

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