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America's top court has granted an emergency order that permits for now the federal government to delay billions of dollars for food benefits used by countless needy U.S. residents.

The White House appealed to the country's highest court after a lower court ruled that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food aid, should be distributed completely to recipients by the end of the week.

The programme has been left in limbo by the continuing budget impasse, with the Trump administration claiming it could only pay for part of it.

The court's decision means £3.04bn can be temporarily withheld until more court proceedings.

SNAP's Reach

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

Earlier this week, a federal magistrate, John McConnell, alleged the Trump administration of blocking nutrition funds "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

The Thursday ruling followed another that required the administration to use reserve money to at least partially fund the assistance for November.

This court battle was triggered after the USDA, which manages the Snap programme, stated payments would be halted in November 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 doll out the full funds.

High Court's Move

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson granted the order on Friday evening, known as an administrative stay, pausing the lower court's ruling 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 lengthiest budget standoff in American history.

Wider Effects

Federal employees have been unpaid for over 30 days and flight operations has been disrupted as Congress members fail to agree a deal to fund the government.

Several states have drawn on their own budget savings to keep Snap payments flowing, which are worth around $6 to recipients via electronic benefit cards which can be used in food markets.

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