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Ana Faguy, Washington
The US Supreme Court has issued an emergency order temporarily allowing the Trump administration to withhold billions of dollars’ worth of funding for food benefits used by millions of low-income Americans.
The White House appealed to the country’s highest court after a lower court ruled that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap), also known as food stamps, should be paid out in full to recipients by Friday.
The programme has been left in limbo by the ongoing federal government shutdown, with the Trump administration arguing it could only afford to partially fund it.
Friday’s ruling means $4bn (£3.04bn) can be temporarily withheld pending further legal hearings.
