WASHINGTON -- The new chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was a top lobbyist for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. until last year, and will have to recuse himself from some government duties under new White House ethics rules.

The appointment of Mark Patterson runs into an executive order President Barack Obama signed to limit the ability of officials to move between industry and government. The order, part of a campaign promise to curb the influence business, allows lobbyists to join the administration as long as...