The Highest Court Rules Full Snap Food Aid Can Be Paused for Now.

The US Supreme Court has issued an emergency order that permits for now the federal government to withhold billions in funding for food benefits used by millions of low-income Americans.

Administration officials appealed to the Supreme Court after a lower court ordered that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food aid, should be paid out in full to recipients by Friday.

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

The court's decision means $4bn can be temporarily withheld until more court proceedings.

SNAP's Reach

The Snap programme is used by tens of millions of U.S. citizens - approximately 12% - and requires almost £6.9bn a month.

Earlier this week, a Rhode Island judge, John McConnell, alleged the government of blocking nutrition funds "for political reasons" and said that without the aid "millions of kids are in danger of facing hunger".

He ordered the government to pay out the assistance in full.

Legal Background

This decision followed another that ordered the government to use contingency funds to at least partly pay for the programme for last month.

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

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

High Court's Move

High Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson issued the order on Friday evening, known as an administrative stay, effectively freezing the lower court's ruling for two days while government lawyer's pursue an appeal.

The row over nutrition program money has become among the most contentious of what is now the lengthiest budget standoff in American history.

Wider Effects

Government workers have been without pay for more than a month and air travel has been thrown into chaos as Democratic and Republican lawmakers fail to agree a compromise to fund the government.

Some states have drawn on their own financial reserves to keep food benefits flowing, which are valued at around $6 to recipients via electronic benefit cards which can be used in grocery stores.

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