Tonight, President Donald Trump is delivering his first official State of the Union address on Capitol Hill, just a little over a year into his presidency. His speech will begin just after 9 p.m. ET before a joint session of Congress.

The president is expected to depart the White House around 8:30 p.m. ET en route to the Capitol and will deliver the address from the chamber of the House of Representatives. Mr. Trump delivered a joint address to Congress last year, a month after the inauguration.

Mr. Trump is expected to tout economic progress under his leadership as well as legislative accomplishments including the Republican-sponsored tax overhaul that he signed into law in December. The president will also likely highlight the need for an immigration fix. Other unfinished items on his agenda include an infrastructure deal, a boost to military funding and a repeal of Obamacare.

In a message shared by The White House this afternoon, it listed several issues the president will talk about in his speech: tax cuts and the economy, infrastructure, immigration, trade and national security. It said, for example, that Mr. Trump will outline a $1 trillion infrastructure plan and explain his “framework on immigration reform.” 

Rep. Joe Kennedy III, D-Massachusetts, will deliver the Democratic response to Mr. Trump’s speech afterward. 

Live State of the Union coverage tonight:

CBS News will broadcast President Trump’s State of the Union address and Mr. Kennedy’s response on behalf of the Democrats. Follow along with this live blog below and live stream of the speech above.

Follow our live State of the Union coverage below:

Trump says U.S. will work to “fix bad trade deals”

9:45 p.m. “From now on, we expect trading relationships to be fair and to be reciprocal,” he said. “We will work to fix bad trade deals and negotiate new ones. And we will protect American workers and American intellectual property, through strong enforcement of our trade rules.”

Trump vows to reduce the price of prescription drugs

9:41 p.m. “One of my greatest priorities is to reduce the price of prescription drugs,” he said. “In many other countries, these drugs cost far less than what we pay in the United States. That is why I have directed my Administration to make fixing the injustice of high drug prices one of my top priorities for the year. Prices will come down — watch.”

Trump says he calls on Congress to empower Cabinet to remove federal workers who undermine public trust

9:37 p.m. He said, “I call on the Congress to empower every Cabinet Secretary with the authority to reward good workers — and to remove Federal employees who undermine the public trust or fail the American people.”

Trump revisits national anthem issue

9:35 p.m. The president spoke about a 12-year-old Preston Sharp, a guest sitting next to Melania Trump in the House gallery who noticed that veterans’ graves were not marked by American flags on Veterans Day and started a movement to place flags at their graves.

“Young patriots like Preston teach all of us about our civic duty as Americans,” he said. “Preston’s reverence for those who have served our Nation reminds us why we salute our flag, why we put our hands on our hearts for the pledge of allegiance, and why we proudly stand for the national anthem.”

“We know that faith and family” are at the center of American life, Trump says

9:31 p.m. The president said, “In America, we know that faith and family, not government and bureaucracy, are the center of the American life.  Our motto is “in God we trust. And we celebrate our police, our military, and our amazing veterans as heroes who deserve our total and unwavering support.”

Trump highlights the GOP tax overhaul that he signed into law in December

9:25 p.m. “And just as I promised the American people from this podium 11 months ago, we enacted the biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history.Our massive tax cuts provide tremendous relief for the middle class and small businesses,” he said. “A typical family of four making $75,000 will see their tax bill reduced by $2,000 — slashing their tax bill in half. This April will be the last time you ever file under the old broken system — and millions of Americans will have more take-home pay starting next month.”

The president said that Republicans have repealed Obamacare’s individual mandate as part of the tax law, which prompted rousing applause from GOP lawmakers. 

The president touts a strong economy

9:22 p.m. Mr. Trump said that 2.4 million new job have been created since the 2016 election.

“After years of wage stagnation, we are finally seeing rising wages. Unemployment claims have hit a 45-year low.  African-American unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded, and Hispanic American unemployment has also reached the lowest levels in history,” he said.

A cutaway shot showing members of the Congressional Black Caucus showed them not applauding in the chamber. 

Trump calls Steve Scalise “one of the toughest people ever to serve” in House

9:19 p.m. “With us tonight is one of the toughest people ever to serve in this House — a guy who took a bullet, almost died, and was back to work three and a half months later: the legend from Louisiana, Congressman Steve Scalise,” Mr. Trump said. “In the aftermath of that terrible shooting, we came together, not as Republicans or Democrats, but as representatives of the people.  But it is not enough to come together only in times of tragedy.  Tonight, I call upon all of us to set aside our differences, to seek out common ground, and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people we were elected to serve.”

Trump touts “incredible progress” in first year

9:15 p.m. “Over the last year, we have made incredible progress and achieved extraordinary success. We have faced challenges we expected, and others we could never have imagined.  We have shared in the heights of victory and the pains of hardship. We have endured floods and fires and storms. But through it all, we have seen the beauty of America’s soul, and the steel in America’s spine.”

The president praised the “Cajun Navy” that helped save lives in the wake of Hurricane Harvey last year. He noted strangers who helped each other after the mass shooting in Las Vegas. 

The president enters the House chamber

9:08 p.m. President Trump is entering the House chamber and shaking hands with lawmakers standing in the aisle. A number of GOP lawmakers are shaking Mr. Trump’s hand and greeting him as he makes his way to the front of the chamber. 

Trump’s Cabinet are entering the House chamber

9:04 p.m. The president’s Cabinet are entering the House of Representatives along with Supreme Court justices. Agriculture Secretary Perdue is absent — he is the designated survivor. 

Trump has left the White House

8:50 p.m. The president is en route to the Capitol where he’ll deliver his first official State of the Union address shortly. 

First lady Melania Trump travels to Capitol separately from Trump 

8:11 p.m. The first lady’s office says: “Mrs. Trump is honoring her guests for the true heroes they are. In addition to holding a White House reception and photo opportunity for them, along with their friends and family, she accompanied them to the Capitol. The First Lady and Mrs. Pence are now hosting a more intimate meet-and-greet to engage with them on a personal level before the speech.”

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to be designated survivor

6:45 p.m. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue will not attend the State of the Union address. Instead, he will be at an alternate location as the night’s designated survivor, in the event that something should go wrong at the Capitol, CBS News has confirmed. 

Excerpts of Trump’s speech released:

6:37 p.m. The White House released the following from Trump’s speech, as prepared for delivery:

  • Together, we are building a SAFE, STRONG, and PROUD America.
  • We want every American to know the dignity of a hard day’s work; we want every child to be safe in their home at night, and we want every citizen to be proud of this land that we love.
  • Just as I promised the American people from this podium 11 months ago, we enacted the biggest tax cuts and reform in American history.
  • Our massive tax cuts provide tremendous relief for the Middle Class and small businesses.
  • Since we passed tax cuts, roughly 3 million workers have already gotten tax cut bonuses – many of them thousands of dollars per worker. 
  • This is our New American Moment.  There has never been a better time to start living the American dream.
  • Tonight, I want to talk about what kind of future we are going to have, and what kind of nation we are going to be. All of us, together, as one team, one people, and one American family.
  • Americans love their country. And they deserve a government that shows them the same love and loyalty in return.
  • For the last year we have sought to restore the bonds of trust between our citizens and their government.
  • In our drive to make Washington accountable, we have eliminated more regulations in our first year than any administration in history.
  • We have ENDED the war on American Energy – and we have ENDED the War on CLEAN COAL.  We are now an exporter of energy to the world.
  • America has also finally turned the page on decades of unfair trade deals that sacrificed our prosperity and shipped away our companies, our jobs and our nation’s wealth.
  • America is a nation of builders. We built the Empire State Building in just one year – isn’t it a disgrace that it can now take ten years just to get a permit approved for a simple road?
  • I am asking both parties to come together to give us the safe, fast, reliable, and modern infrastructure our economy needs and our people deserve.
  • Struggling communities, especially immigrant communities, will also be helped by immigration policies that focus on the best interests of American Workers and American Families.
  • So tonight I am extending an open hand to work with members of both parties, Democrats and Republicans, to protect our citizens, of every background, color, and creed.
  • As we rebuild America’s strength and confidence at home, we are also restoring our strength and standing abroad.
  • Last year I pledged that we would work with our allies to extinguish ISIS from the face of the earth. One year later, I’m proud to report that the coalition to defeat ISIS has liberated almost 100 percent of the territory once held by these killers in Iraq and Syria.  But there is much more work to be done. We will continue our fight until ISIS is defeated.
  • Past experience has taught us that complacency and concessions only invite aggression and provocation. I will not repeat the mistakes of the past administrations that got us into this dangerous position.

Hours out from speech, Trump has yet to tweet Tuesday

6:07 p.m. As he prepares for his first State of the Union address, Mr. Trump has been silent on Twitter. As of early Tuesday evening, the president had yet to tweet anything. The day before, the only tweet that emerged from his account was a tweet congratulating the newly confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary, Alex Azar.

Given his comments on unity, the president could be pulling away from Twitter momentarily to allow space for his message to ring without further distraction. 

But Dan Scavino, the president’s social media director, did tweet this of the president as he was about to run through the speech. 

Trump speaks at news anchor lunch event

4:05 p.m. Asked what he has learned in his first year as president, Mr. Trump said, “I’ve really learned a lot. You know, governing — when you’re a businessperson, you don’t have to worry about your heart, the heart. You really do what’s best for you — you know, for almost purely monetary reasons. You know, you make your money. You competing against people.  In many cases, you don’t like them, you want to beat, and all that stuff. And I build a great company — far better than anybody at this table says. I mean, I have some of the greatest assets in the world. I’ve built a great company,” he said. 

“In doing what I’m doing now, a lot of it is heart, a lot of it is compassion, a lot of it is far beyond money — such as immigration, such as the things we’re talking about. From a purely economic standpoint — if I was doing this purely from an economic standpoint, I would sit down and tell you in one second what I’d be doing, okay? It’s so simple.”

2:58 p.m. Mr. Trump hosted a lunch with TV news anchors Tuesday afternoon ahead of his address and emphasized that he wants to unite the country. 

“There’s been tremendous divisiveness  — not in the last year. There’s been tremendous divisiveness for many years,” he said. “I would love to be able to bring back our country into a great form of unity…Without a major event where people pull together, that’s hard to do. But I’d like to do it without that major event because usually that major event is not a good thing. I would love to do it.”

White House outlines issues Trump will highlight during speech

1:44 p.m. In a message shared by The White House this afternoon, it listed several issues the president will talk about in his speech: tax cuts and the economy, infrastructure, immigration, trade and national security. It said, for example, that Mr. Trump will outline a $1 trillion infrastructure plan and explain his “framework on immigration reform.” 

— CBS News’ Kathryn Watson contributed to this report