White House instructs Kamala Harris’s niece to stop using her aunt to build social media brand

"That being said, behavior needs to change," the official continued. Meena is a lawyer-turned-entrepreneur who boasts more than 800,000 followers on Instagram. her posts range in topic from political to personal.

Meena is also a writer. Her latest book, "Ambitious Girl," was released the night before her aunt was sworn in to office as Vice President. She makes frequent media appearances on The View and the Today Show, and she has been profiled in Vanity Fair and The New York Times.

White House lawyers reportedly told Meena after the election that she could no longer use Harris's name or likeness to promote her content, according to the Los Angeles Times. This would include sweatshirts that Meena was reportedly selling that read "Vice President Aunty."

Meena defended her activities in a statement given to the Los Angeles Times that read, "Since the beginning of the campaign, I have insisted on upholding all legal and ethical standards and will continue to strictly adhere to the ethics rules of the Biden/Harris White House."

"With regards to Phenomenal, it was always our plan to remove the likeness of the Vice President from the website before the Inauguration, and refrain from using her likeness in any products or campaigns going forward," the statement continued.