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The US Supreme Court has granted an urgent ruling that temporarily allows the Trump administration to delay billions of dollars for nutrition assistance used by millions of low-income Americans.

The White House appealed to the country's highest court after a lower court ruled that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, called food aid, should be distributed completely to beneficiaries by the end of the week.

The programme has been caught in uncertainty by the ongoing federal government shutdown, with the government claiming it could only afford to partially fund it.

The court's decision means $4bn can be held back for now pending further legal hearings.

SNAP's Reach

The Snap programme is issued by 42 million Americans - around one in eight - and costs almost £6.9bn a 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 "16 million children are in danger of facing hunger".

He ordered the administration to fund the assistance completely.

Court Proceedings

This decision came after that required the administration to dip into reserve money to at least partially fund the programme for last month.

This court battle was triggered after the US Department of Agriculture, which manages the food stamp program, stated benefits would be stopped in the fall due to the budget shortfall over the budget crisis.

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

Supreme Court Action

High Court Judge Justice Jackson granted the order late Friday, known as 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 longest government shutdown in American history.

Broader Impact

Federal employees have been without pay for over 30 days and air travel has been thrown into chaos as Democratic and Republican lawmakers fail to agree a compromise to pass a budget.

Some states have used their own budget savings to keep food benefits going, which are worth around $6 to users via pre-loaded debit cards which can be redeemed in grocery stores.

However, certain states have said they are cannot cover the funding which has been lost from the U.S. treasury.