ΛCDM remains the leading cosmological model because our current best measurements indicate gravity is not strong enough to stop the universe’s expansion.
In shaping modern cosmology, Galileo articulated the relativity principle in 1632, Newton made gravity universal in 1687, and Einstein revealed gravity as the curvature of spacetime in 1915.
When thinking about the speed of light, remember that gravity never waits. Light can be delayed by matter, but gravity propagates freely through spacetime.