Supreme Court Decides Complete Snap Food Benefits Can Be Put on Hold.
The US Supreme Court has issued an emergency order that permits for now the federal government to withhold billions of dollars for food benefits used by millions of low-income Americans.
Administration officials appealed to the country's highest court after a federal judge ruled that the SNAP program, called food aid, should be distributed in full to beneficiaries by Friday.
This assistance has been left in limbo by the continuing budget impasse, with the Trump administration arguing it could only pay for part of it.
The court's decision means $4bn can be held back for now until more court proceedings.
Programme Impact
The Snap programme is issued by 42 million Americans - approximately 12% - and costs almost £6.9bn a month.
On Thursday, a federal magistrate, the presiding judge, accused the government of withholding food aid "due to political motives" and said that without the aid "16 million children are immediately at risk of facing hunger".
The judge mandated the administration to fund the programme completely.
Legal Background
This decision followed another that ordered the administration 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, announced benefits would be halted in the fall due to the budget shortfall 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 doll out the full funds.
High Court's Move
High Court Judge Justice Jackson issued the stay on Friday evening, known as an temporary halt, effectively freezing the lower court's ruling for 48 hours while federal attorneys seek to overturn it.
This dispute over nutrition program money has become one of the bitterest of what is now the lengthiest budget standoff in US history.
Broader Impact
Federal employees have been unpaid for more than a month and flight operations has been disrupted as Congress members fail to agree a deal to fund the government.
Some states have used their own financial reserves to keep Snap payments flowing, which are worth around $6 to users via pre-loaded debit cards which can be used in food markets.
But some states have said they are cannot cover the money which has been cut by the U.S. treasury.
