Mark Patterson
Treasury Department Chief of Staff (since February 2009)
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(Dept. of the Treasury)
The man who worked behind the scenes for ex-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and former Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) suddenly finds himself center stage as chief of staff at the Obama Treasury Department. A former lobbyist for banking giant Goldman Sachs, Patterson came under fire as he was named to the post the same day Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner outlined rules shielding lobbyists from influencing the distribution of bailout funds.
Patterson was allowed to join the Treasury despite President Obama's executive order that banned hiring lobbyists to work in an issue area in which they have lobbied over the past two years. Patterson was considered the best man for the job, and he'll recuse himself from Treasury duties related to Goldman, a company that has received $10 billion in government bailout funds.
As a staffer for prominent senators throughout his career, Patterson has spent much of his life in the background. Patterson was born to a New York librarian mother and a father who was a high school English teacher. He earned his undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Albany and received a law degree from Catholic University.
Veteran Hill Aide
Patterson worked on Capitol Hill for Sen. Moynihan from 1985 to 1988. After going to law school and working in a private practice for several years, he rejoined Moynihan's office as a legislative director before getting promoted to chief counsel for the Senate Finance Committee.
On Geithner's first full-day on the job at Treasury, he announced rules that limited lobbyist influence on the $350 billion worth of TARP funds released in January 2009 to the new administration. But on that same day, Geithner also named Patterson, a former Goldman lobbyist, as his chief of staff.
Despite some criticism, Patterson received a White House waiver to work at Treasury, and he has promised to recuse himself when certain issues related to Goldman Sachs are discussed.
Patterson worked in a few positions under ex-Sen. Tom Daschle (D), and was considered part of Daschle's inner circle, along with lawyer Mark Childress.
While working at Goldman Sachs, Patterson donated $20,350 in political contributions since 2004. All of his campaign donations went to Democratic candidates, including $4,000 to Tom Daschle in 2004.
- Farnam, T.W., "WSJ: New US Treasury Chief Of Staff Is Ex-Lobbyist," Dow Jones News Service, Jan. 27, 2009
- Rood, Justin and Schwartz, Emma, "Another Lobbyist Headed Into Obama Administration Leaves Critics Questioning the President's Commitment to Changng Washington," ABC News, Jan. 27, 2009
- Lancaster, John, "Daschle's Staff in Majority Leagues; Senator's Aides Are Driven, Loyal," The Washington Post, June 6, 2001
- Yost, Pete, "Ex-Goldman lobbyist now Geithner's right-hand man," The Associated Press, Jan. 30, 2009
- Obama Executive Order
- Center for Responsive Politics
- "Jennifer Leete, Mark Patterson," The New York Times, Sept. 7, 2003
- Kamen, Al, "In the Library, but Not Booked," The Washington Post, Oct. 29, 2003
- Baier, Bret, "Geithner Is Breaking Obama Rule?," Fox News, Jan. 29, 2009
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