US Personnel Chief Resigns in Wake of Massive Data Breach

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

The Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta arrives late for a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee about the recent OPM data breach in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill June 25, 2015 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

WASHINGTON—The embattled head of the government’s personnel office abruptly stepped down Friday, bowing to mounting pressure following the unprecedented breach of private information her agency was entrusted to protect.

Katherine Archuleta had served as director of the federal Office of Personnel Management since November 2013. The former national political director for President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, Archuleta came under scathing criticism amid revelations this year that hackers — widely believed to be China’s government — had infiltrated her agency’s databases as well as background-check records for millions who applied for U.S. security clearances.

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