🔗 Share this article Supreme Court Rules Complete Snap Food Aid Can Be Put on Hold. The US Supreme Court has issued an emergency order that temporarily allows the Trump administration to withhold billions in funding for nutrition assistance relied on by countless needy U.S. residents. The White House appealed to the Supreme Court after a lower court ordered that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, called food aid, should be distributed completely to recipients by the end of the week. This assistance has been left in limbo by the continuing budget impasse, with the Trump administration arguing it could only afford to partially fund it. Friday's ruling means $4bn can be held back for now until more court proceedings. Programme Impact The Snap programme is used by tens of millions of U.S. citizens - around one in eight - and requires almost £6.9bn a month. On Thursday, a federal magistrate, John McConnell, alleged the Trump administration of blocking nutrition funds "due to political motives" and said that without the aid "16 million children are immediately at risk of going hungry". He ordered the administration to fund the assistance in full. Court Proceedings The Thursday ruling came after that ordered the administration to dip into contingency funds to at least partly pay for the assistance for last month. The legal saga was spurred after the USDA, which manages the Snap programme, announced payments would be stopped in the fall due to the budget shortfall over the budget crisis. Prior to the high court's action, the USDA said it was working to comply with the multiple rulings and was making efforts to distribute the complete amount. Supreme Court Action High Court Judge Justice Jackson granted the stay on Friday evening, known as an temporary halt, effectively freezing the previous decision for two days while government lawyer's seek to overturn it. This dispute over food aid funding has become among the most contentious of what is now the lengthiest budget standoff in US history. Broader Impact Government workers have been unpaid for more than a month and flight operations has been disrupted as Democratic and Republican lawmakers cannot reach a deal to pass a budget. Some states have drawn on their own financial reserves to keep Snap payments going, which are worth around $6 to users via pre-loaded debit cards which can be used in food markets. However, certain states have said they are cannot cover the funding which has been lost from the federal government.