Mac OS Ventura forcing me to log in using my Govt card and Pin instead of Macbook password

Sounds like your Mac is managed by the government agency for whom you work. That means they have control over the Mac and can change the configuration at will. Appears they changed their security policies and you are now forced to unlock the Mac itself using the smartcard and PIN. They also disabled TouchID and the Mac password.

If you own the Mac and agreed to some form of BYOD - Bring Your Own Device policy then you likely agreed to allow them to do this. But if the Mac is owned by the government agency, well, they can do whatever they want without your approval as the device belongs to the government agency. They can disable all sorts of functionality and enforce whatever security measures they deem fit.

You need to call the Help Desk at the government agency for any assistance. You likely don't have administrative permissions to change these settings. It's possible they made a mistake.

See Advanced smart card options on Mac - Apple Support

You probably accepted the invite to pair your smart card. After disabling login, you may wish to disable the pairing_ui prompt.