(CBS) President Obama will inform Congress about the State of the Union when he delivers his State of the Union address Tuesday night on Capitol Hill. The main focus of his speech will be on the economy and how to grow the middle class.

"You will hear in the president's State of the Union an outline from him for his plan to create jobs and grow the middle class,” said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

Aides say the president's speech will sound more like the speeches he gave during his re-election bid. You can expect to hear a lot about the economy. But critics say once re-elected, the president pivoted and has spent most of his second term working on social issues such as gun control and immigration reform. The white house disagrees.

"There's no pivot here. The president's principal preoccupation since he ran for this office at the beginning of 2007 has been, what we need to do to make our economy work for the middle class,” Carney said.

In the Republican response, Florida Senator Marco Rubio is expected to make the case for how smaller government can benefit the middle class, how less regulation will create more jobs, and the need for education reform to train the middle class for jobs.

While the president will focus largely on domestic issues, word last night that North Korea has performed a new nuclear test, could bring make national security a larger part of the speech.

"The president made clear, publicly, his desire to further reduce nuclear arms," said Carney.

President Obama issued a statement early this morning that said North Korea’s nuclear test is highly provocative.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul will deliver the tea party response Tuesday night online.

President To Deliver State Of The Union Address