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Sheila Anthony
Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission
In office
September 30, 1997 – September 25, 2003
PresidentBill Clinton
George W. Bush
Preceded byJanet Steiger
Succeeded byPamela Jones Harbour
Personal details
Born
Sheila Foster

Hope, Arkansas, United States
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1962; died 2025)​
RelativesVince Foster (brother)
EducationUniversity of Arkansas (BA)
American University (JD)

Sheila Foster Anthony[1] is an American attorney and former government official. From 1997 to 2002, she served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Early life and education

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Anthony is a native of Hope, Arkansas.[2] Anthony received her undergraduate education at the University of Arkansas, graduating in 1962. Anthony went on to receive her degree in law from Washington College of Law at American University.[3]

Early career

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Prior to entering government, Anthony practiced law at Dow, Lohnes & Albertson in Washington, D.C., where she specialized in intellectual property (IP) law. From 1993 to 1995, Anthony served as Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs.[4] Anthony aided the development of a joint regulation by the Executive Office for Immigration Review and Immigration and Naturalization Services, allowing immigration judges to enter uncontested stipulated orders for deportation or exclusion without a hearing. This was codified under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.[5] Anthony encouraged Congress to pass reforms reducing frivolous prisoner litigation.[6]

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

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In 1997, President Bill Clinton nominated her to replace Janet Steiger on the FTC.[7] Upon her nomination to the FTC in 1997, she was described as an "unknown but politically connected intellectual property attorney" who would likely support the agency's then-ongoing scrutiny of online service company AOL.[8]

In 2000, Anthony joined a 3-2 vote to reach a consent decree with McCormick & Company for offering discriminatory discounts to grocers. This marked the first-ever FTC action on slotting fees, as well as its first enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act in a decade.[9] In the run-up to the FTC's approval of the proposed merger between AOL and Time Warner, Anthony was seen as a key swing vote.[10][11] Other notable votes included the unanimous approval of BP Amoco's purchase of ARCO in 2000,[12] and a 2-2 deadlock (following the recusal of Chairman Timothy Muris) which resulted in PepsiCo's acquisition of the Quaker Oats Company in 2001.[13] In 2003, Anthony entreated media outlets to voluntarily regulate deceptive advertising of weight-loss products prior to publication.[14]

She was replaced as a member of the FTC by Pamela Jones Harbour in 2003.[15]

Personal life

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Anthony was married to Beryl Anthony Jr., a former Democratic member of the House of Representatives from Arkansas, from 1962 until his death in 2025. They had two daughters and five granddaughters.[16]

Anthony and her husband provided evidence that she had referred her brother, Deputy White House Counsel Vince Foster, to psychiatric counseling when he divulged depression before his suicide on July 20, 1993.[17] In 2016, she wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post criticizing Donald Trump for repeating conspiracy theories about her brother's suicide.[18][19]

References

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  1. ^ "NOMINATIONS OF PAMELA HARBOUR TO BE A COMMISSIONER OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION AND NICOLE NASON TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION". www.govinfo.gov. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  2. ^ "Bio: Sheila Anthony". Tech Law Journal. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  3. ^ "Sheila Anthony Begins Term at Federal Trade Commission". Federal Trade Commission. October 1, 1997. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  4. ^ "Sheila F. Anthony". Federal Trade Commission. July 18, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  5. ^ Eagly, Ingrid; Shafer, Steven (December 2020). "The Institutional Hearing Program: A Study of Prison-Based Immigration Courts in the United States". Law & Society Review. 54 (4): 788–833. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  6. ^ Schmidt, John R. (July 27, 1995). "Testimony of John R. Schmidt" (PDF). University of Michigan School of Law. United States Department of Justice. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  7. ^ "LAWYER TAPPED TO SERVE ON FTC". Deseret News. Associated Press. January 11, 1997. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  8. ^ Koprowski, Gene J. (January 16, 1997). "Clinton's FTC Nominee May Scrutinize Internet". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  9. ^ Teinowitz, Ira (March 13, 2000). "FTC, MCCORMICK REACH ACCORD ON SLOTTING FEES". Vol. 71, no. 11. Advertising Age.
  10. ^ Klein, Alec (December 11, 2000). "FTC Nears Approval of AOL Merger". Washington Post.
  11. ^ "FTC Approves AOL/Time Warner Merger with Conditions". Federal Trade Commission. December 14, 2000. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  12. ^ Stout, David (April 14, 2000). "F.T.C. Approves Merger of BP Amoco and ARCO". The New York Times. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  13. ^ Winter, Greg (August 2, 2001). "Way Cleared for PepsiCo to Acquire Quaker". The New York Times. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  14. ^ Lellis, Julie C. (2016). "Waving the Red Flag: FTC Regulation of Deceptive Weight-Loss Advertising 1951–2009". Health Communication. 31: 47–59.
  15. ^ "- NOMINATIONS OF PAMELA HARBOUR TO BE A COMMISSIONER OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION AND NICOLE NASON TO BE ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION". www.govinfo.gov. July 8, 2003. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  16. ^ Gathright Jr., Dale (January 15, 2025). "Former 4th District Congressman Beryl Anthony, Jr. dead". HopePrescott. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  17. ^ Hearings Before The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, United States Senate, 103rd Congress, Second Session, Volume II: On Death of Vince W. Foster Jr. US Government Printing Office. July 29, 1994. p. 2152.
  18. ^ Anthony, Sheila F. (May 26, 2016). "Vince Foster was my brother. Donald Trump should be ashamed". Washington Post.
  19. ^ "Vince Foster's Sister Condemns Trump for Raising Death Conspiracy". NBC News. May 27, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
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