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

The White House sought relief from the Supreme Court after a federal judge ruled that the SNAP program, called food stamps, should be distributed in full to beneficiaries by the end of the week.

This assistance has been left in limbo by the ongoing federal government shutdown, with the government claiming it could only afford to partially fund it.

Friday's ruling means $4bn can be held back for now pending further legal hearings.

Programme Impact

This nutrition aid is used by 42 million Americans - approximately 12% - and requires almost £6.9bn a month.

On Thursday, a Rhode Island judge, John McConnell, accused the government of withholding food aid "due to political motives" and said that without the aid "millions of kids are in danger of facing hunger".

He ordered the administration to fund the assistance in full.

Legal Background

The Thursday ruling followed another that required the administration to dip into contingency funds to at least partially fund the programme for November.

This court battle was triggered after the US Department of Agriculture, which manages the Snap programme, stated payments would be halted in the fall due to the lack of funding over the budget crisis.

Before the Supreme Court stepped in, the Agriculture Department said it was attempting to follow with the multiple rulings and was making efforts to distribute the full funds.

Supreme Court Action

High Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson granted the stay late Friday, known as an temporary halt, pausing the previous decision for two days while government lawyer's seek to overturn it.

The row over nutrition program money has become one of the bitterest of what is now the longest government shutdown in US history.

Wider Effects

Government workers have been unpaid 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 food benefits going, which are valued at around six dollars to recipients via pre-loaded debit cards which can be used in food markets.

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