Laughlin was the only member of Congress to see active duty during Operation Desert Storm, as a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves in 1991.

In 1995, the Republican Party, which had gained a majority in the House for the first time in four decades, offered Laughlin a seat on the Ways and Means Committee if he joined the GOP.

Laughlin was contracted to work with the controversial Israeli spyware firm NSO Group, according to documents filed with the FARA Registration Unit of the Department of Justice.

[5] At the behest of Paul Biya, Laughlin formed a bipartisan group of former members of Congress to monitor the 2004 presidential elections in Cameroon.

[6] This was in contrast to the observations of a delegation from the Commonwealth of Nations led by former Prime Minister of Canada Joe Clark and Episcopal Conference of Cameroon.