Supreme Court Decides Full Snap Food Aid Can Be Put on Hold.
The US Supreme Court has issued an urgent ruling that permits for now the Trump administration to delay billions of dollars for nutrition assistance relied on by countless needy U.S. residents.
The White House sought relief from the country's highest court after a federal judge ordered that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food aid, should be distributed in full to recipients by the end of the week.
This assistance has been left in limbo by the continuing budget impasse, with the Trump administration 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 costs almost $9bn a each month.
Earlier this week, a federal magistrate, John McConnell, alleged the government of withholding food aid "due to political motives" and said that without the aid "millions of kids are in danger of going hungry".
He ordered the government to pay out the assistance completely.
Legal Background
This decision 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 triggered after the USDA, which oversees the food stamp program, announced benefits would be stopped in November due to the budget shortfall over the budget crisis.
Before the Supreme Court stepped in, the USDA said it was attempting to follow with the multiple rulings and was taking steps to doll out the full funds.
High Court's Move
High Court Judge Justice Jackson granted the stay on Friday evening, called an administrative stay, pausing the previous decision for 48 hours while government lawyer's pursue an appeal.
This dispute 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 without pay for more than a month and air travel has been thrown into chaos as Democratic and Republican lawmakers cannot reach a compromise to pass a budget.
Some states have drawn on their own budget savings to keep Snap payments flowing, which are valued at around six dollars to recipients via pre-loaded debit cards which can be used in food markets.
However, certain states have said they are unable to replace the funding which has been lost from the federal government.
