House Republicans Tuesday released a short-term spending bill to keep the government funded through April 28, 2017, a measure that needs to be passed before Friday, December 9th to avoid a government shutdown.

Included in the legislation is language that would allow Gen. James Mattis to bypass the requirement that a service member be retired for at least seven years before serving as secretary of defense.

President-elect Donald Trump last week announced his intention to name Mattis to head the Defense Department and made a more formal announcement Tuesday night at a rally in North Carolina, part of his "thank-you" tour in key battleground states.

Related: Trump Picks Tough Talking Gen. James 'Mad Dog' Mattis as Secretary of Defense

Also of note in the House bill is $7 million in additional funding "for the purpose of providing reimbursement for the extraordinary law enforcement overtime costs directly and solely associated with protection of the President-elect incurred from November 9, 2016 until the inauguration of the president-elect as president."

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, had asked that the federal government reimburse the city $35 million to cover security costs for the president-elect as he lives there between now and the inauguration.