The federal government actually makes that argument all the time, and often prevails with it.
What sources do you have to back this claim up?
One easy-to-find example: https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/too-big-comply-n...
The DoD is legally mandated to pass an audit but consistently doesn’t: https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4992913-pentagon-fails-7t...