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The US Supreme Court has issued an urgent ruling that temporarily allows the federal government to withhold billions of dollars for food benefits relied on by countless needy U.S. residents.

Administration officials sought relief from the country's highest court after a federal judge ruled that the SNAP program, called food aid, should be distributed completely to recipients by Friday.

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

Friday's ruling means $4bn can be held back for now pending further legal hearings.

SNAP's Reach

This nutrition aid is issued by 42 million Americans - approximately 12% - and requires almost £6.9bn a month.

On Thursday, a federal magistrate, the presiding judge, alleged the government of withholding food aid "due to political motives" and said that without the aid "16 million children are in danger of facing hunger".

He ordered the administration to fund the assistance completely.

Legal Background

This decision came after that ordered the government to dip into reserve money to at least partly pay for the assistance for last month.

This court battle was spurred after the US Department of Agriculture, which manages the Snap programme, stated payments would be halted in the fall due to the lack of funding over the shutdown.

Prior to the high court's action, the USDA said it was working to comply with the various court orders and was making efforts to distribute the full funds.

High Court's Move

High Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson issued the stay late Friday, known as an administrative stay, effectively freezing the previous decision for 48 hours while federal attorneys seek to overturn it.

The row over food aid funding has become among the most contentious of what is now the lengthiest budget standoff in US history.

Wider Effects

Federal employees have been unpaid for over 30 days and flight operations has been thrown into chaos as Congress members cannot reach a deal to fund the government.

Several states have used their own budget savings to keep Snap payments flowing, which are worth around six dollars to recipients via pre-loaded debit cards which can be used in grocery stores.

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