Donald Trump appointee Elon Musk and his staff at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are undertaking a seemingly unstoppable advance on a growing number of government departments.

But one former GOP consultant is predicting a bad end for Musk, the world’s richest man.

In a post on X, former Republican strategist Stuart Stevens — author of two books blasting his old party for driving toward autocracy — wrote that Musk’s actions at DOGE are not only illegal but that he would be a target for state attorneys generals.

“The likely scenario is that the young tech bros Musk has following his orders will be thrown under the bus,” Stevens wrote in reference to young staffers working with Musk at DOGE. “But Musk is a big scalp for a state AG to have on his wall. And no presidential pardon could save him.”

The Department of Government Efficiency is a special commission established by an executive order from Trump that is tasked with slashing federal spending and regulations and firing federal workers. Musk, 53, is in charge of DOGE.

Since its establishment, members of DOGE have gained access to the Treasury Department’s payment system — a system that contains sensitive personal information of Americans, such as Social Security numbers, and reportedly copied the data to their own private server.

Musk worked to cripple the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and seize data on their computers, which also contain classified intelligence reports. Established by President John F. Kennedy, USAID is an agency charged with delivering humanitarian assistance overseas. In a post on X on Sunday, Musk wrote that USAID was a “criminal organization” and that it was “time for it to die.”

As of Wednesday, DOGE gained access to the IT systems of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is looking for anything related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) — including bathroom signs, according to ABC News.

Officials that have stood in Musk’s way have resigned or been placed on administrative leave. Musk’s DOGE also has taken control of the federal Office of Personnel Management, essentially to the federal government’s human resources department.

The reports of DOGE obtaining sensitive information and Musk’s efforts to dismantle USAID have drawn ire from congressional Democrats, who say the latter move is illegal and have vowed a court fight, according to the Associated Press.

In his tweet, Stevens wrote that there have been several occasions where aides, officials and donors from past presidential administrations had been convicted.

• In the Nixon administration, Attorney General John Mitchell, White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman, and Domestic Affairs Advisor John Ehrlichman were convicted of obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and perjury during the Watergate scandal.
• In the Reagan administration, National Security Advisor John Poindexter and Lt. Col. Oliver North were convicted of crimes related to the secret sale of arms to Iran and the funneling of proceeds to Nicaraguan rebels during the Iran-Contra Scandal.
• In the Clinton administration, Clinton donors, including Charlie Trie and Johnny Chung, were convicted of campaign finance violations for funneling foreign money into Clinton’s re-election campaign.
• In the George W. Bush administration, Republican lobbyist and Bush fundraiser Jack Abramoff was convicted of fraud, conspiracy, and tax evasion for bribing public officials.

“There’s no question that the scale of the likely illegality of Elon Musk‘s action is unprecedented,” Stevens wrote. “But a big donor or high-ranking aide thinking he is untouchable only to face civil and criminal charges is a long, old story.”