Supreme Court Rules Full Snap Food Benefits Can Be Paused for Now.
America's top court has issued an emergency order that permits for now the Trump administration to delay 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, called food aid, should be paid out in full to recipients by the end of the week.
The programme has been caught in uncertainty by the ongoing federal government shutdown, with the government claiming it could only afford to partially fund it.
The court's decision means $4bn can be temporarily withheld until more court proceedings.
Programme Impact
This nutrition aid is issued by tens of millions of U.S. citizens - approximately 12% - and requires almost £6.9bn a month.
On Thursday, a federal magistrate, the presiding judge, alleged the Trump administration of blocking nutrition funds "due to political motives" and said that without the assistance "millions of kids are immediately at risk of facing hunger".
The judge mandated the government to pay out the programme completely.
Court Proceedings
This decision followed another that required the government to use reserve money to at least partially fund the assistance for November.
This court battle was spurred after the USDA, which manages the Snap programme, announced benefits would be stopped in November 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 complete amount.
Supreme Court Action
Supreme Court Justice Justice Jackson granted the order late Friday, called an administrative stay, pausing the lower court's ruling for two days while government lawyer's pursue an appeal.
The row over nutrition program money has become among the most contentious of what is now the longest government shutdown in US history.
Broader Impact
Government workers have been unpaid 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 used their own budget savings to keep Snap payments going, which are worth around six dollars to users via pre-loaded debit cards which can be redeemed in food markets.
However, certain states have said they are unable to replace the funding which has been lost from the federal government.
