Earlier this month, the federal government withheld billions in funding from Harvard. Last week, the IRS considered whether the school should keep its tax-exempt status.

Harvard’s response? They’ve labeled these moves as somehow “unlawful.” But they can’t explain how, because they’re wrong.

First, as it relates to funding, let’s be clear: No institution is simply entitled to billions of taxpayer dollars. The federal government has the absolute right to attach conditions to the programs it pays for, especially when it comes to compliance with applicable civil rights laws.

Contrary to what Harvard’s leadership may believe, this isn’t a First Amendment issue because the government is not suppressing free speech—it is exercising its own. And the Supreme Court has been crystal clear about this.

In Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans (2015), for example, the court explained that “when government speaks, it is not barred by the Free Speech Clause from determining the content of what it says.” In fact, the court has continually refused “to hold that the government unconstitutionally discriminates on the basis of viewpoint when it chooses to fund a program dedicated to advance certain permissible goals, because the program in advancing those goals necessarily discourages alternative goals.”

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