> And the consolidation of all government data, which continues apace even as Musk steps back, could now be used by the White House to target political opponents or undocumented immigrants, as well as recalcitrant government workers.

I unironically think this was always the plan. There are now guys in the private sphere (Big Balls etc.) that have a more or less intimate understanding of government IT systems/data sources/processes, including sensitive ones, whereas such knowledge was previously reserved for government "lifers".

You don't need a plan to get a harmful result. Trump, many of his underqualified appointees, and Musk operate like button mashing gamers.