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America's top court has granted an urgent ruling that permits for now the Trump administration to withhold billions in funding for food benefits relied on by countless needy U.S. residents.

Administration officials appealed to the country's highest court after a federal judge ruled that the SNAP program, called food stamps, should be distributed completely to recipients by the end of the week.

This assistance has been left in limbo by the ongoing federal government shutdown, 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

This nutrition aid is used by tens of millions of U.S. citizens - approximately 12% - and requires almost £6.9bn a month.

On Thursday, a federal magistrate, John McConnell, alleged the government of blocking nutrition funds "for political reasons" and said that without the assistance "16 million children are immediately at risk of going hungry".

The judge mandated the government to pay out the programme in full.

Legal Background

This decision came after that required the administration to dip into reserve money to at least partly pay for the programme for November.

The legal saga was triggered after the USDA, which oversees the Snap programme, announced benefits would be halted in November due to the budget shortfall over the shutdown.

Prior to the high court's action, 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

High Court Judge Justice Jackson issued the order on Friday evening, called an administrative stay, effectively freezing the lower court's ruling for two days while federal attorneys pursue an appeal.

This dispute over nutrition program money has become among the most contentious of what is now the lengthiest budget standoff in US history.

Wider Effects

Federal employees have been unpaid for over 30 days and flight operations has been disrupted as Democratic and Republican lawmakers cannot reach a deal to pass a budget.

Several states have drawn on their own budget savings to keep food benefits flowing, which are worth around six dollars to users via pre-loaded debit cards which can be used in food markets.

But some states have said they are cannot cover the money which has been lost from the federal government.