President Lyndon B. Johnson also led his administration's War on Poverty. He appointed Daniel Patrick Moynihan as Assistant Secretary of Labor. Mitchell was criticized by some in the black community for his support of Moynihan during this period, as the latter had written a controversial book analyzing issues of the black family in the United States and poverty. Moynihan later became known as a noted U.S. Senator from New York. In addition, Mitchell defended the State of Israel during its war of 1967 against Arab states and was criticized by some. Mitchell was among the African-American leaders with whom President Johnson met after Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated in April 1968.