Shortly after telling states that the food assistance program would be fully funded, the administration asked the Supreme Court to step in.

As food lines across the country grow, The Supreme Court late Friday temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that had ordered the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP payments. NBC’s Yamiche Alcindor reports for Saturday TODAY from the White House.

The Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court a federal judge’s order to provide full SNAP benefits for November. The high court agreed.

The Supreme Court on Friday granted the Trump administration’s emergency appeal to temporarily block a court order to fully fund SNAP food aid payments amid the government shutdown. A judge had given the Republican administration until Friday to make the payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The Trump administration said Friday afternoon that it would fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for November, despite the funding lapse and government shutdown. Earlier on Friday,

The Supreme Court late Friday allowed the Trump administration to temporarily halt SNAP payments even as states were gearing up to distribute the money. Why it matters: Some 42 million Americans who rely on the program for nutritional assistance were waiting on their November payments as the longest government shutdown in history drags on.

Supreme Court temporarily pauses order requiring Trump admin to fully fund SNAP