Following the 2014 coup d'etat, Thailand's newly established military junta appointed Laohavanich to its National Reform Council, a committee the ruling junta described as preparing Thailand for return to democracy. After his appointment Laohavanich appeared in the Thai media extensively, criticizing various groups including Wat Phra Dhammakaya in a manner critics described as 'fake news'. Laohavanich was later also hired as a special consultant by Thailand's Department of Special Investigation during the 2016–17 legal case against the honorary abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Luang Por Dhammajayo. Following his work on the military junta's National Reform Council, Laohavanich began a political campaign as secretary-general of the Prachachon Patiroob (Reform People Party), a pro-junta political party that advocated military dictator Prayut Chan-O-Cha remaining in power after the 2019 Thai general election.