Secretary of War Pete Hegseth will ask President Donald Trump for final approval to execute Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army major who gunned down 13 service members at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009, the Daily Caller reported Wednesday.

Hasan is on death row at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and the Supreme Court denied his appeal in April.

"I am 100% committed to ensuring the death penalty is carried out for Nidal Hasan," Hegseth told the Daily Caller. "This savage terrorist deserves the harshest lawful punishment for his 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood. The victims and survivors deserve justice without delays."

If Trump approves, Hasan's execution would mark the first carried out by the military since 1961, when soldier John Bennett was hanged.

Bennett, a 26-year-old Army private, was convicted of raping and attempting to murder an 11-year-old girl in 1954 while stationed in Austria.

On Nov. 5, 2009, Hasan, a psychiatrist, opened fire in the Soldier Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood, Texas, near Killeen, killing 13 and injuring more than 30 others.

Armed with a semiautomatic handgun and extra magazines, Hasan targeted soldiers preparing to deploy to Afghanistan and Iraq. Witnesses reported he shouted "Allahu akbar" ("God is great") before the rampage.

Investigators later found Hasan had exchanged emails with radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, signaling extremist motives.

The Pentagon initially classified the attack as workplace violence, but it was later reclassified as an act of terrorism, enabling victims to receive Purple Hearts and further benefits.

In 2013, a military court convicted Hasan of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder, sentencing him to death.

Under Army regulations, staff will recommend Hasan's execution; the packet then goes to the Army secretary and to the secretary of war, who will provide an additional recommendation to the president, a Pentagon official told the Daily Caller.

"Inmate Hasan's packet is now in the staffing process for presidential action," the official said.

Hasan justified his actions in a 2017 letter.

"I considered those who were trying to help the U.S. undermine the Taliban's attempt to establish Sharia (God's) Law as the supreme law of the land and replace it with something else like a democracy that doesn't rule by God's law the enemies of God, and thus worthy of fighting/killing," Hasan wrote.

Newsmax wires contributed to this report.