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America's top court has granted an emergency order that temporarily allows the federal government to delay billions of dollars for food benefits relied on by millions of low-income Americans.

The White House sought relief from the country's highest court after a federal judge ordered that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, called food stamps, should be distributed completely to recipients by Friday.

This assistance has been caught in uncertainty by the continuing budget impasse, with the Trump administration arguing it could only afford to partially fund it.

The court's decision means $4bn can be temporarily withheld until more court proceedings.

SNAP's Reach

This nutrition aid is issued by 42 million Americans - around one in eight - and costs almost £6.9bn a month.

On Thursday, a Rhode Island judge, the presiding judge, accused the government of withholding food aid "due to political motives" and said that without the assistance "millions of kids are immediately at risk of going hungry".

The judge mandated the government to fund the programme completely.

Court Proceedings

The Thursday ruling came after that required the administration to use 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, announced benefits would be halted in the fall due to the lack of funding over the shutdown.

Prior to the high court's action, the Agriculture Department said it was attempting to follow with the various court orders and was taking steps to distribute the complete amount.

High Court's Move

High Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson granted the stay late Friday, called an temporary halt, pausing the previous decision for two days while government lawyer's seek to overturn it.

This dispute over nutrition program money has become among the most contentious of what is now the longest government shutdown in American history.

Broader Impact

Federal employees have been without pay for more than a month and air travel has been disrupted as Congress members cannot reach a deal to fund the government.

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

But some states have said they are unable to replace the money which has been cut by the U.S. treasury.