Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued an administrative stay on Friday, to allow a lower court more time to assess the admin's request to provide only partial funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

SNAP covers around 42 million people from low-income households, giving an average of $187.20 per month to be spent on food. The program is administered by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

SNAP benefits are provided through accounts called EBTs. Beneficiaries spend the food stamps using EBT cards, which are like prepaid credit cards. Benefits are provided on a certain day each month.

SNAP typically costs between $8.5bn and $9bn each month.

The Supreme Court's new ruling pauses a ruling by a federal judge in Rhode Island that required the government to release the full amount of funding immediately.

The stay will remain in place until two days after the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals rules on blocking the lower court's decision.

Earlier this week, US District Judge John McConnell accused the Trump administration of withholding SNAP funds for "political reasons."

He ordered the USDA to use money from a child nutrition fund worth $23 billion to cover the shortfall in spending.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi praised the Supreme Court decision, describing Judge McConnell's order as "judicial activism at its worst."

Funding for the program has stalled since the beginning of last month. Democrats have voted against reopening the government on more than a dozen occasions, and Republicans have voted to prevent funding for SNAP while a broader agreement on ending the shutdown is reached.