The Highest Court Rules Full Snap Food Benefits Can Be Paused for Now.
America's top court has granted an emergency order that permits for now the Trump administration to delay 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 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food aid, should be distributed in full to beneficiaries by Friday.
The programme has been left in limbo by the continuing budget impasse, with the government claiming it could only pay for part of it.
The court's decision means $4bn can be temporarily withheld until more court proceedings.
SNAP's Reach
The Snap programme is issued by tens of millions of U.S. citizens - approximately 12% - and costs almost $9bn a each month.
Earlier this week, a Rhode Island judge, the presiding judge, accused the government of withholding food aid "for political reasons" and said that without the aid "16 million children are in danger of facing hunger".
He ordered the administration to fund the assistance completely.
Court Proceedings
The Thursday ruling followed another that ordered the government to dip into contingency funds to at least partly pay for the programme for last month.
This court battle was spurred after the USDA, which manages the Snap programme, announced benefits would be halted in November due to the budget shortfall over the budget crisis.
Before the Supreme Court stepped in, the USDA said it was working to comply with the various court orders and was taking steps to distribute the complete amount.
High Court's Move
High Court Judge Justice Jackson granted the order on Friday evening, called an temporary halt, effectively freezing the previous decision for 48 hours while federal attorneys 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
Government workers have been without pay for more than a month and air travel has been disrupted as Democratic and Republican lawmakers fail to agree a deal to fund the government.
Some states have drawn on their own financial reserves to keep food benefits going, which are valued at around $6 to users via electronic benefit cards which can be used in grocery stores.
But some states have said they are unable to replace the money which has been lost from the U.S. treasury.
