Jennifer Ludden

The high court decision allows a lower court time to consider a more lasting pause. The Trump administration is appealing an order to fully fund November food aid for millions of people.

In failing to fully fund the food assistance program that covers 42 million low-income Americans, the judge said the government "failed to consider the harms" to people who rely on the benefits.

About 1 in 8 U.S. residents get an average of $187 a month per person in the food assistance known as SNAP. For the first time, the Trump administration stopped the payments due at the beginning of the month.

Judge Indira Talwani acknowledged this will leave millions of people without assistance starting Saturday. Two dozen Democratic-led states had sued over the administration's decision to suspend SNAP.

The White House directive calls for prioritizing money for programs that require sobriety and treatment, and for cities that enforce homeless camping bans.