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The US Supreme Court has granted an urgent ruling that permits for now the federal government to withhold billions in funding for nutrition assistance relied on by millions of low-income Americans.

Administration officials sought relief from the Supreme Court after a lower court ordered that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, called food aid, should be distributed in full to recipients by the end of the week.

The programme has been caught in uncertainty by the continuing budget impasse, with the government arguing it could only afford to partially fund it.

Friday's ruling means £3.04bn can be temporarily withheld until more court proceedings.

Programme Impact

This nutrition aid is used by 42 million Americans - around one in eight - and requires almost $9bn a month.

Earlier this week, a federal magistrate, the presiding judge, alleged the Trump administration of withholding food aid "for political reasons" and said that without the aid "millions of kids are immediately at risk of going hungry".

He ordered the government to pay out the assistance completely.

Court Proceedings

This decision followed another that required the administration to dip into reserve money to at least partly pay for 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 budget crisis.

Before the Supreme Court stepped in, the Agriculture Department said it was working to comply with the multiple rulings and was making efforts to distribute the complete amount.

High Court's Move

High Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson issued the stay on Friday evening, known as an temporary halt, 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 American history.

Wider Effects

Government workers have been unpaid for more than a month 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 Snap payments flowing, which are valued at around six dollars to recipients via electronic benefit cards which can be used in food markets.

However, certain states have said they are unable to replace the funding which has been cut by the U.S. treasury.