This was a battle worth picking imo, government wasnt following the rules. I set them right
You being in the right or the wrong here is still missing the goddamn point. You can be right and not get the job because they didn't like you.
Key words: didn't like you.
So rather than being a hard-liner for the rules, it's better to be someone who is more pro-social, a team player. Accommodate the government bureaucracy, because otherwise you just come off as an entitled person that the hiring team is just going to say "fuck this guy" and look onto the next.
Case in point, the person manning the phone for the hiring process probably isn't even remotely related to the IT person. If you, a person asking for a job, make them do more work and outside their scope, it's not going to help your case.
Imagine being this afraid that people wouldn't like you that you're afraid to speak your mind ---