Supreme Court Rules Full Snap Food Aid Can Be Temporarily Halted.
The US Supreme Court has issued an urgent ruling that permits for now 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 lower court ordered that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, called food aid, should be paid out in full 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 afford to partially fund it.
Friday's ruling means £3.04bn can be held back for now until more court proceedings.
SNAP's Reach
This nutrition aid is issued by tens of millions of U.S. citizens - approximately 12% - and costs almost £6.9bn a month.
On Thursday, a Rhode Island judge, the presiding judge, accused the government of blocking nutrition funds "due to political motives" and said that without the aid "millions of kids are in danger of going hungry".
He ordered the administration to fund the programme completely.
Legal Background
The Thursday ruling followed another that required the administration to use reserve money to at least partly pay for the programme for last month.
This court battle was triggered after the USDA, which manages the Snap programme, announced payments 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 working to comply with the multiple rulings and was taking steps to distribute the complete amount.
High Court's Move
High Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson issued the stay on Friday evening, called an temporary halt, pausing the lower court's ruling for two days while government lawyer's 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 American history.
Wider Effects
Federal employees have been without pay for over 30 days and flight operations has been thrown into chaos as Congress members cannot reach a deal to pass a budget.
Some states have drawn on their own budget savings to keep Snap payments flowing, which are worth around six dollars to users via electronic benefit cards which can be used in grocery stores.
But some states have said they are unable to replace the funding which has been cut by the U.S. treasury.
