Kamala Harris has removed a link to the vice presidential account from her Instagram following the end of her term as vice president. On Monday, she concluded her tenure as the United States’ second-in-command after serving four years in office.
In the U.S., the official social media accounts of senior government leaders—including the president, vice president, and first lady—are transitioned to the incoming administration at the end of a term, if the current leaders are not reelected.
This tradition continued as Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States during a ceremony at Capitol Hill. Trump, along with Vice President J.D. Vance, succeeded President Joe Biden and Harris after their victory in the 2024 election for the Republican Party.
Harris’ official Instagram bio now describes her as a politician “always fighting for the people,” a slight modification from the previous “fighting for the people.”
The bio, which also lists her as a “Wife, Momala, Auntie” and includes her pronouns “She/her,” previously included a link to the official vice president’s account. This link was removed following the inauguration of Trump and Vance. The nickname “Momala” is a term of endearment given to Harris by her stepchildren, Cole and Ella Emhoff, whom she shares with her husband, Doug Emhoff.
The practice of transitioning social media accounts officially began in 2017 when President Barack Obama left office and Donald Trump assumed the presidency for his first term.
On X (formerly Twitter), the @POTUS handle is transferred to the incoming president on Inauguration Day. While the account retains its followers, it starts with a clean slate of tweets. The outgoing president’s tweets are archived under a new handle that incorporates “POTUS” with their presidential number.
For instance, Trump’s tweets from his first term as the 45th president are preserved under @POTUS45.
