The president said development of the vessels would help maintain military superiority and improve the industrial base, but analysts suggested they were the wrong approach to current threats.
Senator Richard Blumenthal is requesting information from an architect hired to oversee the ballroom design and people invited to a donor dinner with the president.
Several veteran correspondents questioned how Ms. Weiss, the new CBS News editor in chief, had handled the segment, after she defended her decision on a call with the newsroom.