On 16 December, Roosevelt left the ship at Charleston, South Carolina, to head for Washington to implement his "lend-lease" idea—one more step in United States' progress towards full involvement in the war. Soon thereafter, "Tuscaloosa" sailed for Norfolk and, on 22 December, embarked Admiral William D. Leahy, the newly designated Ambassador to Vichy France, and his wife, for passage to Portugal. With the "stars and stripes" painted large on the roofs of Turrets II and III, and her largest colors flying, "Tuscaloosa" sailed for the European war zone, initially escorted by and .