One of the best ever to wear the blue and white of Portland, quarterback Cordell Jones, made it official Wednesday, signing his national letter of intent to play for the University of Maine next season.

Jones, who suffered a separated shoulder during the Turkey Bowl, should be back playing for the Bulldogs in the next five to six weeks.

The two-way star on the gridiron helped lead the Bulldogs to three straight appearances in the Class A State Finals, including a gold ball win over Thornton Academy in 2024.

This past season, Jones broke two longstanding Bulldog records for touchdowns and total points, and the amazing part is he did it in just three seasons.

Jones had multiple scholarship offers but in the end wanted to be a part of the amazing culture in Orono, hoping to someday help lead the Black Bears to a CAA championship.

The Trump Administration is threatening to withhold some Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funds from Maine and other Democratic-led states that have refused to provide the names and immigration status of recipients to the federal government.

During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said cuts will begin next week for states that have not provided more data on SNAP recipients. The government is targeting administrative funds, not the benefits people receive, according to the Associated Press.

“We asked for all the states for the first time to turn over their data to the federal government to let the USDA partner with them to root out this fraud, to make sure that those who really need food stamps are getting them, but also to ensure that the American taxpayer is protected,” Rollins said.

Maine has refused for months to provide the information and this summer joined a lawsuit challenging the request for personal information, including Social Security numbers, birth dates and home addresses. In September, a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration from disallowing SNAP funds.

Rollins said 28 states and Guam have complied with the data request, but 21 have not.

The federal government last week sent states a letter urging compliance, but the parties agreed to give the states until Dec. 8 to respond.

“We have sent Democrat States yet another request for data, and if they fail to comply, they will be provided with formal warning that USDA will pull their administrative funds,” the USDA said in a statement Tuesday.

A spokesperson for Gov. Janet Mills said Wednesday that the governor and the Maine attorney general “will stand in the way of this cruel and callous attempt by President Trump to cause Maine people to go hungry.”

The federal government funds benefits for about 42 million people, but states share the cost of running SNAP. Federal law allows the USDA to withhold some of the money states receive for administering SNAP if there’s a pattern of noncompliance with certain federal regulations.

Sen. Susan Collin, R-Maine, said in a statement Wednesday that she urged the USDA to distribute SNAP benefits during the government shutdown to support vulnerable families and is glad food aid “is currently not at risk.”

When it comes to the administrative funds, Collins said she expects any efforts to withhold them to be held up in court.

“In the meantime, I would encourage the state to be transparent with the data the administration has requested to prevent waste, fraud, or misuse of these taxpayer-funded benefits that help so many American families,” Collins said.

Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, said in a statement Wednesday that “rather than confront the very real crisis of hunger in Maine and across the country, the Trump administration is hellbent on destroying the program that 42 million Americans rely on to feed their families.”

“The historic gutting of SNAP in the Big Ugly Bill wasn’t enough for them. Now Secretary Rollins is threatening to illegally withhold federal funding from states that won’t hand over sensitive personal information on SNAP recipients — data they want for immigration enforcement despite a federal court order blocking this exact demand. We all saw how well the last data grab by DOGE went,” Pingree said in the statement.

The offices of Sen. Angus King and Rep. Jared Golden did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

SNAP was in the spotlight during the government shutdown after the administration said it would not release funding for monthly benefits. That move prompted multiple lawsuits and orders from judges to distribute SNAP. Ultimately, November benefits in Maine were distributed on schedule.

That uncertainty came weeks after the largest ever cuts to the program went into effect in October, putting heightened pressure on Maine food pantries, some of which report record numbers of people seeking assistance.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.

This story will be updated.