A federal appeals court late on Sunday allowed a judge’s order to stand that directs US President Donald Trump’s administration to fully fund this month’s food aid benefits for 42 million low-income Americans during the ongoing US government shutdown.

The Boston-based 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals declined to halt Thursday’s decision by a Rhode Island judge requiring the US Department of Agriculture to spend $4 billion set aside for other purposes to ensure Americans receive full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits .

The ruling by the 1st Circuit will have no immediate impact because on Friday US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson put a temporary hold on the lower court order by US District Judge John McConnell.

Her temporary hold remains in place

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