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The US Supreme Court has granted an urgent ruling that temporarily allows the Trump administration to withhold billions of dollars for food benefits relied on by millions of low-income Americans.

Administration officials sought relief from the Supreme Court after a federal judge ruled that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food aid, should be paid out completely to beneficiaries by the end of the week.

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

Friday's ruling means $4bn can be held back for now until more court proceedings.

SNAP's Reach

The Snap programme is issued by 42 million Americans - approximately 12% - and costs almost $9bn a each month.

On Thursday, a Rhode Island judge, the presiding judge, accused the Trump administration of withholding food aid "for political reasons" and said that without the aid "16 million children are immediately at risk of facing hunger".

He ordered the administration to pay out the programme in full.

Court Proceedings

The Thursday ruling followed another that ordered the government to dip into contingency funds to at least partly pay for the assistance for November.

This court battle was triggered after the USDA, which oversees the food stamp program, announced benefits would be halted in the fall due to the lack of funding over the shutdown.

Before the Supreme Court stepped in, the USDA said it was attempting to follow with the multiple rulings and was making efforts to doll out the complete amount.

Supreme Court Action

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued the order late Friday, called an administrative stay, pausing the lower court's ruling for 48 hours while federal attorneys pursue an appeal.

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

Government workers have been without pay for more than a month and flight operations has been disrupted as Congress members cannot reach a deal to pass a budget.

Some states have used their own financial reserves to keep food benefits going, which are worth around $6 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 U.S. treasury.