WASHINGTON — The head of the U.S. government’s personnel office resigned abruptly Friday, bowing to bipartisan calls for her to step down following a massive government data breach on her watch.

Katherine Archuleta, director of the federal Office of Personnel Management, submitted her resignation to President Barack Obama on Friday morning, the White House said. She’ll be replaced on a temporary basis by the agency’s deputy director, Beth Cobert, who will step into the role on Saturday.

Less than 24 hours earlier, Archuleta had rebuffed demands she resign, telling reporters she had no intention of leaving and her agency was doing everything it could to address concerns about the safety of data in its hands.

But on Friday, Archuleta told Obama it was best for her to step aside to let new leadership respond to the recent breaches and to improve systems to lessen risks in the future, according to a White House official.

In a statement, Archuleta made no direct reference to the data breach, saying only she believed it was best to allow the agency to “move beyond the current challenges.” She praised the agency’s employees as “some of the most dedicated, capable and hardworking individuals in the federal government.”

“I have complete confidence in their ability to continue fulfill OPM’s important mission of recruiting, retaining and honoring a world-class workforce to serve the American people,” Archuleta said.

Archuleta’s position appeared to become unsustainable given the scope of the data breach and the mounting calls from lawmakers in both parties for her to resign.