I have questioned the actual value of calculus in the past, and I still do, but the fact remains that calculus and the methods of thinking it represents are central to a lot of data science. And data science is central to all sorts of social-science fields, most certainly including government/political science. Finally, as a long-time observer of government offices and of groups that deal with them, I can tell you that one important way young people make a place for themselves at the table is by having sophisticated and reliable math and statistics skills.
In other words, your prospective government major really ought to make friends with calculus.
Also – In my kids’ school, the GC would never have characterized a student as having taken the most challenging curriculum available if the student hadn’t taken at least one, and preferably both, of AP Calculus and AP Physics.