By Kristina Peterson 

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump will touch on plans for overhauling the tax code and health-care system in his address to Congress on Tuesday night, but won't seek any changes to Social Security or Medicare, White House officials said Sunday.

In his first address to a joint session of Congress, Mr. Trump is expected to emphasize two of his top legislative priorities, simplifying the tax code and dismantling the Affordable Care Act and replacing it with something else.

But Mr. Trump won't push for curbing spending on Social Security and Medicare, two federal safety-net programs that Republicans have said for years must be overhauled to reduce the budget deficit.

"We are not touching those now. So don't expect to see that as part of this budget," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Fox's Sunday Morning Futures.

Congressional Republicans have said they would be listening to Mr. Trump's speech for hints about the shape of the first budget proposal his administration will send to Capitol Hill, expected in mid-March.

Although Mr. Trump repeatedly said on the campaign trail he didn't want to reduce spending on Medicare or Social Security, his new budget director, former GOP congressman Mick Mulvaney, has long advocated for sharply lowering federal spending, including on entitlement programs.

Given that Mr. Trump plans to boost military spending and cut taxes, the White House budget plan could leave conservatives in a difficult position if the Republican-led budget does little to curb federal spending.

"You have got to pay for those things. We've got to pay for those things, " Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), an influential conservative lawmaker, said Sunday on ABC. Conservatives generally want to cut spending on entitlements to offset higher military spending.

Tuesday night, the president is also expected to generally outline his priorities on the Affordable Care Act, but may not wade deeply into the thorniest questions surrounding it. Republicans have disagreed over how to repeal and replace the 2010 health-care law.

Mr. Trump said earlier this year that his goal was to provide "insurance for everybody." White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined Sunday to guarantee that no one would lose their current coverage under the GOP plan.

"I know that the goal is that we make sure that people don't lose their coverage and that we have to put a high priority on people that need it most," Ms. Sanders said Sunday on ABC.

Republicans are also split over how to overhaul Medicaid, the federal-state insurance program for the poor, which some states expanded under the 2010 health law.

In Tuesday's speech, Mr. Trump will likely also reiterate his desire to increase border security, his former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, said Sunday on Fox.

Mr. Trump campaigned for president promising a full border wall and continues to talk about building a "wall" along the border with Mexico. He is running into resistance from Republicans in Texas, where most of the unfenced land is located.

The president is expected to send a request for funding to build the wall to Congress in the coming weeks. Internal Department of Homeland Security estimates put a full wall's initial cost at more than $21 billion. After repeated assurances that Mexico would pay the bill, Mr. Trump now says the U.S. will be reimbursed later, something Mexican officials say will never happen.

GOP lawmakers said Congress should approve new money to tighten border security, but it is unclear if Republicans will be comfortable with the price tag when it arrives.

Write to Kristina Peterson at kristina.peterson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 26, 2017 14:17 ET (19:17 GMT)