The fascists always attack free speech, and our first amendment rights have been under attack from many directions.

I'm more wondering that if all consumer network routers have to be made in the US (e.g. forcing people to use the ISP-provided one), it makes it easier for them to utilise the ISP's backdoors for monitoring of people's LANs. If that's actually the goal, then the next logical step would be to deny anyone access using a third-party router or ISP-provided router that didn't have their firmware.

They're setting up to verify identities online I presume?

To track online activities.

To ensure nobody is doing anything the government (or its corporate funders) don't like.

Look at the Project2025 manifesto and see how much they want people's activities to be controlled.

You can of course run your own router.