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America's top court has granted an urgent ruling that temporarily allows the federal government to withhold billions of dollars for nutrition assistance relied on by countless needy U.S. residents.

Administration officials sought relief from the Supreme Court after a lower court ruled that the SNAP program, also known as food stamps, should be distributed in full to beneficiaries by Friday.

The programme has been caught in uncertainty by the ongoing federal government shutdown, with the Trump administration claiming it could only pay for part of it.

The court's decision means £3.04bn can be held back for now pending further legal hearings.

SNAP's Reach

The Snap programme is used by tens of millions of U.S. citizens - around one in eight - and requires almost $9bn a each month.

On Thursday, a Rhode Island judge, the presiding judge, accused the government of blocking nutrition funds "for political reasons" and said that without the aid "millions of kids are immediately at risk of facing hunger".

The judge mandated the government to fund the assistance in full.

Court Proceedings

The Thursday ruling followed another that ordered the government to use contingency funds to at least partially fund the programme for last month.

This court battle was triggered after the USDA, which oversees the Snap programme, stated payments would be halted in November due to the lack of funding over the shutdown.

Prior to the high court's action, the USDA 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 Justice Jackson issued the stay late Friday, called an temporary halt, pausing the previous decision for 48 hours while government lawyer's seek to overturn it.

The row over food aid funding has become among the most contentious of what is now the longest government shutdown in US history.

Wider Effects

Federal employees have been without pay for more than a month and flight operations has been thrown into chaos as Congress members cannot reach a deal 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 redeemed in grocery stores.

But some states have said they are cannot cover the funding which has been lost from the U.S. treasury.