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The US Supreme Court has granted an emergency order that temporarily allows the federal government to delay billions in funding for nutrition assistance used by countless needy U.S. residents.

Administration officials sought relief from the country's highest court after a lower court ruled that the SNAP program, called food aid, should be distributed completely to beneficiaries by the end of the week.

The programme has been left in limbo by the continuing budget impasse, with the Trump administration arguing it could only afford to partially fund it.

The court's decision means £3.04bn can be temporarily withheld pending further legal hearings.

Programme Impact

This nutrition aid is used by tens of millions of U.S. citizens - approximately 12% - and requires almost $9bn a month.

Earlier this week, a Rhode Island judge, John McConnell, accused the government of withholding food aid "for political reasons" and said that without the aid "16 million children are in danger of facing hunger".

He ordered the government to fund the programme in full.

Court Proceedings

This decision came after that ordered the administration to dip into contingency funds to at least partly pay for the programme for last month.

The legal saga was spurred after the US Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Snap programme, stated benefits would be halted in the fall due to the lack of funding over the budget crisis.

Prior to the high court's action, the Agriculture Department said it was attempting to follow with the various court orders and was making efforts to distribute the complete amount.

Supreme Court Action

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued the order late Friday, called an temporary halt, pausing the previous decision for 48 hours while government lawyer's pursue an appeal.

This dispute over nutrition program money has become one of the bitterest of what is now the longest government shutdown in American history.

Broader Impact

Federal employees have been unpaid for more than a month and air travel has been disrupted as Congress members fail to agree a compromise to pass a budget.

Several states have used their own budget savings to keep food benefits flowing, which are valued at around $6 to users 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.